Need You Now: Part Two
by BabyGurl2012
Summary: Christian and Ana have found their happiness. Can it remain untouched?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here we are in the first chapter of the Need You Now sequel which picks up about seven months down the road. I hope you enjoy!**

**C POV**

"Come here Jamison." I hold my hands out for the baby who giggles and continues crawling to me. Since he started crawling a month ago, he's been on a roll. The installation of baby gates hasn't slowed him down. He stops and looks past me with his adorable smile widening. Who am I kidding? Everything about the kid is adorable. I know without looking who holds his attention, Ana. Fuck I love that woman more and more every day.

"What are you doing baby boy?", she asks him sweetly. "Are you crawling to Daddy?" Moving to my side, she kisses me feverishly before looking back at Jamison. "I was in the middle of doing my work when I needed a Christian and Jamison fix."

Although Ana hasn't officially ruled out a return to a college campus, she's spent the last several months doing online classes. With Gail on maternity another few weeks, Ana's juggling classwork and tending to Jamison. The Taylors welcomed their daughter Riley Elizabeth four weeks ago and are happier than ever. Yes I said Taylors. They changed their minds at the last minute about getting married. So, they were married only a day before the baby was born. Another milestone, the birth of April and Bryce's baby boy who coincidentally was born on the same day as Riley. Little Alexander Nicholas, or Alex, wasn't due for another week but was determined to be born on the same day as Riley.

"How is your work coming along?"

"I'm almost finished with my report. I just need to proof read it and then I can email it to my instructor."

"I bet it's the best report in the history of reports.", I tell her. "Have you heard anything from your dad about the fishing trip?"

"Darn. I almost forgot. He said next week would be good for him. He's busy helping Mary at the diner this week." Ray went through with his plan to propose to Mary. He surprised her with a trip to the beach, popping the question during sunset. They haven't chosen a date yet.

"What's he doing at the diner?"

"A little bit of everything. Carol's out sick, and the new bus boy decided he didn't want to work there anymore."

"Why not?" Jamison arrives at my feet and starts giving me those "pick me up Daddy" eyes. I scoop him into my arms and smother him with kisses, causing him to coo with delight.

"Apparently he comes from a wealthy family and doesn't have to work. His mom is the one who called and gave Mary the news. Mary told her she would have liked for him to give her more of a notice. The mother's response, "That's life." Now that my dad is on board with the trip, who else do you need confirmation from?"

"He was the only one I was waiting on. My dad, Elliot, and Ben already said yes as well as Charles. He sounded pretty excited about the trip over the phone. It seems fishing is something he loves, but he hasn't done much. His father didn't have anything like that with him." Charles and I have come a long way in the last few months. We've gotten to know each other even more in additon to him getting to know my parents. I wasn't sure how the three of them would get along, yet they've become friends. His mother has tried unsuccessfully to pry her way back into his life. During his last visit here a few weeks ago, her call went unanswered. He claims he doesn't miss her, but I feel at least a tiny part of him does.

"Jamison's looking forward to going when he's a little older. All of you guys better watch out because he's going to show you who's the king of fishing." Jamison kicks his feet and giggles. "See. He's already taunting you."

"I don't mind being shown up by you."

* * *

><p>"Elliot, would you please remove your feet from my desk?" He shrugs and pulls his feet from the surface of my desk. "Since you're here, it'll save me a phone call by telling you the fishing trip is definitely on for next week. Ray told Ana he could make it."<p>

"Awesome. It's going to be a good weekend of just us guys fishing and roughing up. I might not even bring my phone with me. You should consider doing the same."

"Uh no. I've got a wife and baby. Not having a phone where they can reach me or me reach them is unacceptable. I'm not going to stop you if you want to rough it. While the rest of us sleep in the cabin, you're more than welcome to pop up a tent and sleep outside. I don't think there's a lot of bears in the area."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!", he exclaims while waving his hands. "I changed my mind."

"I sensed you would. Besides work, what have you been doing?", I ask. He turns around one of the framed photos of Jamison which I have placed on the desk. "Elliot?"

"I've been doing...stuff. I cleaned the house last night for Mom. She said she was going to do it when she got home from work, but she was exhausted. It felt good doing it." One of the biggest chances is the breakup between Elliot and Spencer. When they summoned everyone to my parents' house three weeks ago, everyone thought it was to announce their engagement. We couldn't have been more wrong. It seems the two had drifted apart and were disagreeing more and more. An argument over a small thing would in turn result in an argument over something larger. If there's a glimmer of hope, it's that they still talk and get along as friends. Elliot's currently staying with parents.

"Do you have any plans of finding your own place?", I ask.

"Of course I plan on getting my own place.", he scoffs. "I've been looking, but nothing has interested me. With that being said, Spencer said she might possibly have the perfect place. It's small and doesn't have much of a driveway, but I can always park my truck on the curb."

"Spencer's going to help you find a place? Hmm. Interesting."

"Don't start over analyzing things. We're friends who are there for each other. About that trip..."

"Ah, changing the subject, the ultimate way of avoiding the issue."

"There's no issue to avoid.", he insists.

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

"Do you remember me telling you about Garrett from work.", Spencer asks over our lunch at MOD Pizza. I tap my finger on the side of my water glass while trying to recall the guy in question. "He works in menswear. He's the one who jump started my car last week."

"Oh yes. I still wonder if "jump starting the car" is some sort of euphemism." Although he has no idea what he laughing at, Jamison joins me in laughter, but Spencer only glares at me. "Sorry. What about Garret from work?"

"He asked me out." The laughter has ceased and been replaced by silence. "That's the exact look I was expecting you to have."

"I just didn't think you would be going out on dates so soon after things ended with Elliot.", I shrug, taking a big bite of my pizza.

"I turned him down. I know you, Christian, and everyone else want Elliot and I back together."

"Because the two of you are meant to be together. You might be upset when I tell you what I need to say. I feel you gave up too easily. You should have fought harder." Spencer takes a deep breath followed by a long sip of her water. "Be mad at me all you want, but I'm your best friend who's telling her opinion."

"Well thanks for your opinion.", she snarls. "I shouldn't be mad at you for expressing your feeling, but I keep being told from you and practically the entire world that Elliot and I should be together. Ana, I love Elliot, but sometimes love isn't enough. I get things can't all be sunshine and rainbows."

"You're right. Look at Christian and me. We've had our struggles but always come out on top in the end."

"And I'm happy for you and Christian, but Elliot and I aren't you and Christian. I can't predict the future and where we'll end up. We could end up back together at some point." I perk up at this tidbit. "I'm not saying it'll happen. I'm just saying neither of us have ruled out a reconciliation down the road. For now, we need to apart."

"I don't like.", I sigh, hearing what sounds like a sigh from Jamison. "The baby doesn't like it. Even so, you have our support."

"Thanks. What are you doing while Christian's on his fishing trip?", Spencer asks.

"Throwing a wild party complete with dancing and goats. Heck, there might even be dancing goats."

"The usual, huh?"

"I really haven't thought about what I'm going to do. I'll probably just stay close to home and relax with Jamison."

* * *

><p>"Elliot dropped by the office today. I asked about him looking for his own place. He told me that Spencer might the perfect one in mind.", Christian says while we're sitting in the living room before dinner.<p>

"I wish it were her apartment." He pulls me closer to him and places a kiss on my forehead. "We could always force them into the same room like we did before, but I'm going to respectful of their decision."

"So am I." The front door opens, and in walks Gail and Taylor who's holding Riley's carrier.

"Hey.", Taylor replies. "We hope we're not disturbing, but we wanted to say hi."

"I'm enjoying being with the baby, but I needed some fresh air.", Gail says with a smile. "Where's Jamison?"

"He's spending some time with my parents.", Christian answers. "Hello Miss Riley. You're adorable. Thank goodness you look like your mom."

"I was telling Gail the same thing earlier.", Taylor laughs. "She does have my nose though."

"I think she's the perfect combination of the two of you. Taylor, are you still getting up with her during the night?", I ask. Taylor eases the baby out of the carrier and into his arms.

"I do. Gail gets up some as well, but I figure she does a lot during the day when I'm working that I should take the night shift."

"I told you not long after Jamison was born there wasn't anything better than getting up at night to take care of your baby, but you laughed it off.", Christian tells Taylor. "Look at you now."

"I was very wrong."

"I'm sure this is one time you're glad to be wrong."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"You and Jamison could come with us. I'm sure the guys wouldn't mind. There's going to be plenty of room at the cabin." Christian throws his suitcase bag in the SUV as I hold Jamison by the front of the house.

"Your offer is sweet, but Jamison and I are going to pass. This is a weekend for you and the rest of the guys to bond. Besides, I need a break from you.", I tease. His fingers feather down my cheek as Jamison giggles.

"I'm going to miss both of you. It's going to be hard not seeing your faces when I wake up in the morning. I do feel better knowing that you have security here." Even though Christian and the guys are only going to be gone one night, he didn't want to tear Taylor away from Gail and Riley so Ryan is accompanying him this weekend. "I'll be calling and texting constantly."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't. Jamison, do you want Daddy to catch a lot of fish? You do?" Jamison's hands reach for Christian who takes him and plasters his cheeks with butterfly kisses. A cab turns into the driveway and stops in front of the SUV. Charles climbs out with a suitcase. "Hi Charles."

"Hey.", Christian echoes. "How was your flight?"

"It was ok. I slept part of the way and then watched some movies." He places a hand on Jamison's shoulder. "Hey there little man. Your dad told me you've been crawling all over the place."

"Thank goodness for baby gates. We should get going. We have to go and meet up with the others at my parents' house." Charles seems to handle hearing Christian referring to Carrick and Grace as his parents well. "Jamison, be good for Mommy." After kissing Jamison again, he turns to me and kisses me one more time. "I love you both."

"We love you."

"Bye Ana. Bye Jamison.", Charles says as he puts his suitcase in the vehicles and gets in on the rear passenger side. Christian follows by entering on the rear driver's side. He rolls his window down and waves the entire they're going down the drive and even a little once out on the road. Soon, they're out of sight.

"It's just me and you baby boy. We're going to have a nice weekend too. Your grandma Grace, Aunt Mia, Spencer, and Mary are going to stop by later." An unpleasant smells hits my nose. "But first let's get you a clean diaper."

* * *

><p><strong>CPOV<strong>

"Ben, this place is beautiful.", Ray says. We're standing on the porch of Ben's family's cabin in Chelan.

"Thanks. My dad came up here a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I've been here in a while."

"Was the last time when all of us were here?", I ask. While Ana was pregnant, she and I came up here with everyone. It was a wonderful weekend. _Fuck I miss Ana. I miss Jamison._

"That would be the time." Elliot and Charles have walked out outside after getting their things unpacked. "Elliot, remember how you fell into the mud the last time you were here?" My dad who's sitting in one of the porch's wicker rocking chairs starts laughing.

"I have to hear this story.", Dad says.

"One word, Mia.", Elliot snarls. "She pushed me into a huge pile of mud although she claimed it was an accident. Spencer backed her up by saying she saw the entire thing, but I'm to this day convinced it was on purpose."

"Elliot, do you really believe Mia would willingly do such a thing?", Ben asks.

"Hell yeah. I take it my darling but crazy sister will be joining my mom at Christian and Ana's?"

"She is along with Mary and Spencer." Elliot goes quiet at the mention of Spencer's name. "I wouldn't worry about them getting all drunk and wild."

"I can guarantee that my mom, Ana, and Mary probably won't, and as far as Mia goes, I can't see that either. Spencer, well, she's free to do whatever she wants. She's young and single."

"I haven't seen you since it happened, but I'm sorry about you and Spencer.", Ray tells Elliot. "The two of you always seemed so happy together."

"We were happy.", Elliot murmurs. For a second, I think he's about to cry, but he turns away from everyone and gathers himself. "Things happen though. What can you do? The point of this weekend is to relax and have some guy bonding time. Why don't we do that by getting our gear and catching up some fish?"

"I'm fine with that.", I reply. "I need to call Ana first."

"And I need to call Grace.", my dad adds. "Ray, Ben, I assume you're going to call Mary and Mia?"

"Yeah.", Ben answers. "Mia wanted me to call as soon we got here which I failed to do."

"Ah, one of the great things about not being in a relationship, not having to check in every five minutes. Charles, don't you agree?"

"Uh..well..actually I kind of have someone I need to call. Her name is Gina. We've been friends for a few years, but things have changed in the last few weeks. We realized that we like each other in a romantic sense."

"I'm happy for you.", I say before turning back to back to Elliot. "You can give us all the grief you want about having to check in, but speaking for me, I wouldn't change a thing." I open the front door and head to the bedroom that I'm sharing with Elliot for the weekend. Sitting down on my single bed, I dial Ana.

"As soon as my phone started ringing I knew it had to be you.", she giggles. "Are you having fun yet?"

"We haven't really done anything besides unpack. We're going to go and get a little bit of fishing in before it gets dark." I hear Spencer laughing from the other end. "It sounds like you all are having a nice time."

"Oh we're having _lots_ of fun. Most of it is thanks to our son who has everyone under his spell."

"Of course." Elliot appears in the doorway and starts pointing to his watch. "Baby, I've got to go. I'll call you later but will text you any photos of the fish I catch. Give Jamison a big kiss from. I love you."

"We love you. Bye."

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

Christian and I end our call just as Grace, Mia, and Mary end their phone conversations with their guys. Spencer's still laughing at Jamison, but her laughter seems forced.

"Carrick said they're about to head out for some fishing.", Grace says.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how how much they'll be able to get in today, but they'll probably get up pretty early in the morning."

"They're going to have difficult time waking Elliot up.", Spencer sighs. "During the week, he has no problem waking up early, but the weekend is a different story. A few months ago, I wanted to go to the farmers market. Even though getting there early is important, Elliot didn't agree. I tried over an hour to wake him until I gave up and went on my own. Then he had the nerve to get upset when I got back, telling me I should've have waited on him. Give me a break."

"Surprisingly, he was awake early last weekend. He even woke up before Carrick and I. There was breakfast on the table. We thought we had stepped into some sort of alternate universe.", Grace says while handing Jamison his baby keys.

"He cooked for you?", Spencer asks.

"And it was edible. The other day he cleaned the house."

"It's nice to know he's doing things now that he wouldn't do when we were together. Maybe he can put his new skills to use when he moves into own place."

"What's this about you helping him find a place?", Mia asks.

"I simply told him that I know a place he might like. Call it a friend helping a friend, nothing more."

"Since you two are only friends, would you mind him going out with another woman?"

"Another woman?" Spencer curls her feet underneath her and stares at the photos lined up on the wall in front of her. "He's been a date?"

"Not yet, but he joined Ben and I for dinner the other night, and this girl at the bar kept staring at him. Midway through the meal, she got up and strutted over to our table, saying that she might come across as being forward, but she couldn't help it. She found him extremely attractive."

"The chick just walked over like that, not caring if he might have a girlfriend? That's a little strong." Spencer looks at all of us and waves her hand. "Don't you all agree?"

"Of course.", Mary replies in what I suspect is her way of trying to make Spencer feel better.

"Definitely.", I say as Jamison pouts for me to pick him up. I scoop him up.

"I thought so as well, but she asked Elliot if he's single. After he said yes, she gave him her number. I think her name was Mindy or something like that.", Mia shrugs. "He said he might call her."

"Good for him. He should move on and find love. I mean I'm planning on doing the same. In fact, I've got a date with a guy from work."

"Garrett?", I ask. "I thought you turned him down."

"I did at first. Then I changed my mind. We're going out for sushi next week. Elliot never liked sushi which I love. Garrett also loves sushi, one more thing we have in common."

"What else do you have in common?", Mary asks. "Sorry."

"It's fine. We both like our jobs at Neiman Marcus. He has a dog. I love dogs."

"Elliot likes dogs.", Grace points out.

"That's one small thing we had in common. You can't build a relationship on just the mutual love for dogs. There has to be more to it. I'm going to go and get some water. Does anyone need anything?"

"I could use some water as well.", I reply as I get up. "Jamison, do you want to go to Mary while I go and get some water?" Mary happily takes him from me. I follow Spencer into the kitchen and wait while she pours her water.

"Do you want me to pour yours?"

"I lied. I don't need any. I only came in here to talk. Where you telling the truth about Garrett?"

"Not entirely. I did tell him no, but now I'm thinking maybe I should say yes. Elliot's going on a date with Mindy." The name Mindy bitterly rolls off her tongue.

"He told Mia he might call Mindy. That doesn't mean he's actually going to call her. You want to know what I think? I think you're getting worked up over the idea of him going out with someone new because you still want to be with him."

"If he goes out with her or anyone else, he might fall for her. If he falls for her, that would close any door we have of ever getting back together.", she sniffles while sitting down at the table. Her face is soon splashed with tears. I grab a paper towel and hand it to her. "This is the first time I've cried since it ended. I've been holding it in. Now it feels like I'm never going to be able to stop."

"You shouldn't hold your emotions in. Bottling them up will only make things worse."

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"Here it comes!", Charles shouts. He steps back and reels in his second catch of the day.

"That's a fine looking trout.", Ray compliments him. "It looks to be around twelve pounds."

"Good job Charles.", I tell him. I lean back in my fold up chair and look over at Elliot and Ben who are still trying to get their first catch. "Any luck over there?"

"Dude, you're supposed to be quiet.", Elliot hisses. "When are you going to get back over here?"

"Soon. I'm just trying to let you catch up with the four fish I caught."

"Elliot, are you ok? Your mind seems to be elsewhere today.", my dad says. Elliot sets his reel down and walks over to where we're seated.

"I didn't sleep well last night. No offense to Ben's family, but my bed wasn't very comfortable." Ben shakes his head and also places his reel on to the ground. He grabs a bottled water and sits down in the chair next to my dad.

"I don't think the bed was the problem.", Ben says. "Something or should I say someone else was keeping you awake. You were thinking about Spencer and that guy from her work." Ana told me that Spencer's co-worker Garrett had asked her out, but Spencer had turned him down. "It's bothering you that she's going out with him."

"Spencer's going out with that Garrett guy? I thought she turned him down.", I mutter. Elliot quickly turns his attention to me, and I know we're about to have trouble. "Before you ask why I didn't say anything to you, hear me out. Spencer told Ana the guy asked her out, but she turned him down."

"That's what Spencer told Mia last night.", Ben adds. "But she evidently changed her mind and is now going out with him next week."

"For sushi.", Elliot scoffs. "The one food I don't like. I can see it now. They're going to stare into each other's eyes and instantly fall in love. Then they're going to get engaged and have sushi at their wedding reception. They'll live happily ever after."

"You think all of that's going to happen?", Charles asks.

"I think you're thinking way ahead of things. One date doesn't mean anything.", Ray assures Elliot.

"I can't believe she's going on a date so soon. I had a chance to go out with a girl named Mindy. She handed me her number while I was having with dinner with Mia and Ben. I shoved it in my pocket but threw it out as soon as I got home."

"Elliot, you know your mother and I love you very much and that we want only the best for you.", my dad says. "And with that, I'm going to tell you that you're a fool. You and Spencer are both fools. The two of you claim you tried, but I don't think you actually did. You've done nothing but wallow since you broke up. What does that tell me? You're miserable. Why are you miserable? You miss Spencer. I haven't talked to her, but I have a feeling she misses you too."

"We were together for a while. Missing each other is going to be a given. It'll get easier though, right?"

"Maybe.", Charles answers. "Maybe not. Elliot, I let Ella go and have regretted every single day. If only there had been more communication, things would've been different. Regret is a bitch. It'll eat you up." It's clear from the expression on his face that Elliot's letting Charles's words sink in. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, staring at it while everyone waits to see what he's going to do. He types out a text and then puts the phone back away.

"I texted Spencer."

"What did you text her?", I ask.

"Hi.", he murmurs.

"You've got to start somewhere."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**C POV**

"Good for you. What did Spencer text back?" Elliot's eyes haven't moved from his phone screen for one second following the "Hi" text he sent Spencer. "Elliot, what did Spencer say in return?"

"Nothing.", he mumbles. "She didn't text back."

"Maybe she's busy.", Ben suggests. "I'm sure she'll text back soon."

"Or maybe not. She might have decided to have her date with Garrett earlier. If so, then that's great. She should move on and find someone who makes her happy."

"I'm lost. Just a few minutes ago, you sounded like a sullen child while going on about Garrett and Mia. Why are you suddenly in support of them?", my dad asks. Elliot rubs his eyes and shrugs his shoulders.

"You said it yourself Dad, I'm a fool. I let Spencer slip through my fingers." My dad gets out of his chair and walks over to Elliot, shaking his head before slapping him on the back of the head. The hit wasn't hard, but Elliot is shocked. "What the hell was that for!?"

"I love NCIS, and Gibbs always does that to DiNozzo when he wants to get some sense in him. I figured it might work here. While I did say you're a fool, you don't have to be. You can change things. It's in your hands."

"No I can't. It's too late."

"It's not yet, but it will be if you keep moping around and doing nothing. Be proactive. Make a move.", I tell him.

"I don't feel like talking about this anymore. I'm going to head back to the house and take a nap. Wake me when you get back so I start getting my things packed."

"How about I join you?", I ask, not wanting him to be isolated in his state.

"You stay here. I just need to be alone. Laters."

"I'm going to call Ana to see if she's talked to Spencer, and if so, try to find out what Spencer has said to her about Elliot. I find it hard to believe that Spencer would be intentionally avoiding Elliot's text." I get out of my chair and head a few feet down the bank. Unlocking my phone, my heart rate accelerates at the photo on the screen. It's one I took of Ana a few weeks ago. She's giving a giggling Jamison while both pairs of blue eyes are staring ahead. On the second ring, I hear her pick up.

"Hey.", she anwers.

"Hi. I was going to call before we headed out fishing, but it was still early."

"It's fine. How many fish have you caught so far?"

"Only four.", I laugh. "I stopped for a while to try and let the others catch up with me. I might pick up the reel one more time before we leave. How are things going there?"

"All's well here. It was fun having all the gals over last night."

"How was Spencer last night?", I ask as I look out over the water.

"She was ok." Ana sounds reluctant to tell me more. "Why do you ask?"

"Ben talked to Mia who told him that Spencer's going out on a date with Garrett from work. I thought she told him no. Has she changed her mind?"

"No although she brought up the idea of saying yes to him after finding out that Elliot might be going out with some girl he met while out to dinner with Mia and Ben. She was pretty down about that."

"Elliot told us about the girl who gave him her number, a number which she threw away." The more Ana and I talk, the more things start to fall into place. Spencer heard about the girl from Mia who told Ben about Spencer deciding to go out with Garrett. "Am I talking to myself right now?"

"Sorry baby. I was coming to the realization that Mia more set things up so Elliot and Spencer would get upset over the other going out with someone else. After which, they would go running back to each other. It's probably some idea she saw in a movie or read in a book."

"Hmm. That does sound like something Mia would do.", Ana replies. "With the best of intentions of course."

"The good news is Elliot texted Spencer after we started helping him get back on track."

"Oh. That's good." I keep the phone to my ear while tossing a pebble into the water. "What did he text?"

"Hi.", I answer. "It was a one word text meant to serve as an opening to a deep conversation. The problem is Spencer didn't text back, and now Elliot's worried she's went through with the date. I don't think that's the case."

"I can call Spencer to try and find out more." I hear Jamison whining on the other side of the call. "Hold on a second little man."

"He's hungry?"

"Yeah. I'm going to hang up and feed him, but I'll call you back with what I find out with Spencer. We love you."

"I love you guys too. Bye."

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

"Spencer, it's me. Call me when you get this." I hang up the phone and hope that she'll call me back soon. She didn't respond to Elliot's text or answer my call, and that's unusual for her. I pray that she didn't do something stupid like call Garrett. I creep into the nursery to check on Jamison. Seeing that he's sleeping peacefully in his crib, I gently brush my finger along the side of his cherubic face. "Sleep tight.", I whisper before going out of the room. Just as I get to the door of the master bedroom, my phone rings. I quickly pull it from my pocket so the noise won't wake the baby. I breathe a sigh a of relief over seeing Spencer's name. "Thank goodness it's you."

"Hi to you too.", she says. "You sounded urgent in your message. What's up?"

"What's up is you need to call Elliot. Christian said Elliot texted you hi, but you hadn't texted back." I open the bedroom door and sit down on my side of the bed.

"I got his message and have been meaning to get back to him, but I got busy cleaning. You would think the place would be much cleaner with Elliot gone."

"I also found out that Elliot doesn't plan on going out with the girl whose number he got, but Elliot was told you were going out with Garrett."

"Where did he hear that from?", she hisses.

"Mia apparently told Ben who told Elliot. Christian thinks Mia did it as a way of helping you and Elliot see the error your ways."

"I swear she watches too many romantic comedies."

"That's where Christian thinks she got the idea. What you need to do now that you know the truth is call Elliot."

"Ana, it's not that I don't want to talk to him. It's just...", she stammers. "I'm scared."

"Why are you scared Spencer? It's Elliot. You've talked millions of times."

"As a couple, we would start off talking and then end up arguing. What if as friends the same thing happens? Losing him as a boyfriend hurt, but at least having him as a friend meant still having him in my life."

"I understand your fear, but you need to stop being so afraid and start communicating."

* * *

><p>"Excuse the mess.", April murmurs when Jamison and I arrive at her and Bryce's. After talking to Spencer, I decided to go and see the new parents. A few burp clothes and blankets cover the sofa.<p>

"It's not a mess. It's the house of new parents. Where is Bryce?"

"Right here.", Bryce answers as he comes into the living room with Alex in his arms. "I was on diaper duty." He moves to where I'm sitting with Jamison and leans so Jamison can get a better look at the newborn. "Alex, say hi to Jamison." Bryce sits down in the recliner with Alex. "Are the guys still gone fishing?"

"Yeah. They're supposed to be back later tonight."

"I told Bryce he could go with them if he wanted, but he said no.", April says.

"I'd rather be here with you and our son.", Bryce tells her. "My fiancé and our son." I snap my head to April and see the ring on her ring finger. She sees me looking at it and nods.

"Fiance? When did that happen?", I ask.

"Last night. I had just gotten out of the shower I had been needing all day. Bryce had been in the bedroom with Alex before I went into the bathroom, but neither of them were in there. I found them in the living room which was covered with roses. Bryce had a shirt on that said **Will You Marry Me?, **and Alex had a onesie with the words **Will You Marry My Daddy?**. Bryce could barely get the words out because I kept saying yes."

"It was magical.", Bryce grins.

"He even got Uncle Jason's blessing."

"I was more nervous about that than the actual proposal, but it all worked out in the end."

"Congratulations guys. I'm so happy for you. Jamison's happy for you as well." Jamison starts grinning and jabbering. "See. He's saying congrats."

"Thank you Ana and Jamison."

* * *

><p>"I'm happy for April and Bryce. They're going to have a long and happy marriage.", Spencer says. "Just like you and Christian." I arrived home from April and Bryce's and found her waiting on me in the driveway.<p>

"And maybe you and Elliot. Did you text or call him back?"

"I did. I texted him that I was sorry for not getting back to him sooner, and that I hoped he was having a nice time fishing. He immediately texted back that they were about to leave."

"They should be home soon. Once they get back, the two of you should have talk face to face. Enough with the texting." I hear the sound of car doors slamming. "I bet that's Christian." The door opens and in walks Christian with Elliot behind him. "Oh look. Elliot's here." Christian drops his suitcase down and walks over to where I'm sitting. "Hi." Our lips entwine while Elliot and Spencer look on. "Where's Charles?"

"We dropped him off at the airport. Ryan's going to drive Elliot home in a little bit unless of Spencer wants to drive him."

"Is this a set up?", Spencer asks me. "Did you tell Christian ahead of time that I was here?" I remain silent. "When you went upstairs to put Jamison down, you called and told Christian that I was here. He then told Elliot." She turns to Elliot who's standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Is that why you came here?"

"It is. I needed to see you. I've got a question for you. Do you love me?"

"You know I do. I love you, and I'm in love with you."

"Good. I'm so in love with you. You infuriate me like no one else has ever done. You push my buttons and piss me off, but despite all that, I'm still in love with you. I don't see that ending anytime soon."

"Well you're not the easiest person to get along with yourself.", Spencer scoffs. "You have the tendency to be immature and messy. You never seem to be listening to me. Still, I'm in love with you."

"We were on our way back when Ben turned on the radio. There was this song from Jack Savoretti. It was called "Hate and Love". One of the lines goes something like, "Sunshine and rain make a beautiful thing." Spencer, we have our differences, and we argue. I won't deny that just like I won't deny how I miss you. I miss us and not in the friend sense."

"I miss us too. I'm just scared that we'll get back together and slip into our old ways."

"It won't happen if we don't let it. We need to be in control of things. The best way to start is being open and honest with each other about our feelings." Elliot pushes a strand of hair from her face as a hint of a smile goes to her face. "I would like to go back to the apartment to talk. Would you like that?"

"I'd like that.", she murmurs.

"Ok. Christian, Ana, thank you for all you've done."

"You're welcome.", Christian says. "Now go and talk." We wave at them as the walk out of the house.

"It's going to take some time, but they're going to be all right."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"There's one of the favorite guys in the world." Maxie sprints from the design school's library and towards the bench where I'm sitting with Jamison's stroller. She playfully shakes his hand, stirring giggles from him. "Hello sir."

"Why do you sound so down?", I ask. She falls back in the empty spot on the bench.

"Take your pick between school and guy trouble. I'm convinced my Color Theory Two instructor hates me, and I have no idea why. I go to class and do my work, yet it seems that's not good enough. He continuously calls on me like he's trying to prove a point to the other students."

"Maybe he knows you'll have the answer to his question."

"I've thought about that. It just gets tiresome though, being the only one called on.", she mumbles. "Then there's the ever present guy trouble. My mom decided to take it upon herself to fix me up with a coworker's stepson. How terrible is that?" She opens her bag and pulls out a pack of gum, shoving two pieces of gum at the same time into her mouth. "I've found chewing gum helps when I get anxious."

"When's the date?"

"Tomorrow night, meaning I have a little more time to come up with an excuse. I'm looking a little pale, don't you think?" She emits a few fake coughs. "Yes I believe I'm getting sick."

"There's an even better way of getting out of the date.", I say while pulling Jamison's blanket back up on him after he kicked it off. "Tell your mom you appreciate her wanting to help you but you can find a guy on your own."

"I can't.", she mumbles. "The problem is I can't find a guy on my own." She stops and seems to reflect on what she's just said. "Technically I can find a guy on my own although he unusually ends up being a loser."

"Could it be your mom has non-loser radar? She knows you and your personality so she might very well could have used that knowledge in finding your potential soul mate. I've never met her, but I'm sure she wouldn't purposely set you up with someone she didn't think was right for you."

"You could be on to something. I will say this, my love life may not be perfect, but it could be worse. Take Candace's for instant. Have you talked to her since her date with Cameron, the guy she met at the post office?" Candace called last week and informed me she had met a cute guy at the post office. After spending several minutes talking, they finally exchanged numbers to make plans for a date which was supposed to take place this past weekend.

"I meant to call her but got busy. Was it that bad?" Footsteps hits the pavement behind us. I look over my shoulder and find Candace heading towards us. "Perhaps she'll tell me herself."

"You told her about my epic fail of a date.", Candace groans. She kicks a few small rocks in front of her and then sits on the other end of the bench. "Ana, it was the worst."

"I was about to tell her. However, since you're here, you can do the honors.", Maxie replies.

"Gee thanks." Candace glances at Sawyer and Bryce who are stationed behind the bench. "Please refrain from your laughter until I finish recounting the horrible, horrible night. Ok. I was pumped for the date. I went and bought a new dress and then straightened my hair which took forever. He picked me up promptly at seven, took me to a nice dinner where we had a nice conversation. It was going well...until he took me home. I invited in for some coffee. We sat in the kitchen and carried on another lovely conversation until I accidentally spilled coffee on my dress. I hated leaving him in there all alone, but I needed to change so I dashed out of the room."

"Up until the coffee mishap, you were having a good evening. How can it go downhill from there?", I ask.

"I'm getting there. I went into the bedroom and changed into a low-cut blouse and jeans. I went back into the kitchen and found him shoving forks and spoons into the pockets of his pants. I not so nicely asked what he was doing. His answer, "I just moved out of my parents' and don't have a lot of eating utensils." Despite her request for Sawyer and Bryce to hold back their amusement, they start laughing uncontrollably. "Ha ha. Laugh all you want."

"We're sorry.", Sawyer tells her while struggling to get a straight face. "What kind of a guy does that? Why doesn't he just go and buy utensils instead of stealing them from his date?"

"Or get plastic ones like I used to use before I started dating April.", Bryce shrugs. Candace, Maxie, and I look at him in utter disbelief. "I was a bachelor who lived on take out most of the time. Give me a break."

"Dude, even I had actual silverware."

"Uh, do you want me to finish the story or not?", Candace asks Sawyer and Bryce during a break in their banter. "Cameron made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. I told him he should leave and lose my number. He tried to say we had something special that shouldn't end because of one silly thing. It starts off with forks and spoons and ends up being larger items. I did the right thing."

"You certainly did. I wouldn't have given him another chance either.", Maxie says. "A guy stealing from me is a hell no although I did have a guy take a pair of my panties once."

"Oh now this is about to get interesting. Spill.", I order her as Jamison stares at her. "Maybe I should cover your ears baby boy."

"It was in the summer after I graduated high school. My boyfriend and I had been together for about six months and were hopelessly in love. He came over one day and was sitting in my bed with me while I folded some laundry. He picked up a pair of panties and asked if he could have them. I was shocked. He said he wanted them to remind him of me. I told him he was being sweet, but he couldn't have them. I assumed the topic was over until I was sitting in my room after he left. I had this gut feeling he had taken them. After calling and confronting him, I got confirmation. Again, he claimed he took them as way to remind him of me. I didn't break up with him at that moment, but things weren't the same afterwards. He had already violated my trust so what else could he do. We split up about a month later."

"Once that trust is broken, it's hard to get it back.", I say. "Candace, I'm sorry about what happened. You'll meet the right guy. I've still had a good time catching up with the two of you."

* * *

><p>"What's for dinner?" I swirl around and see Christian leaning against the counter. He moves closer to me and the oven, sniffing the air around him. "It smells like lasagna. Am I right?" Nancy's brother-in-law is celebrating his birthday tonight, and I insisted that she join the party while I handled dinner.<p>

"Yep." I nod at Jamison who's watching from his high chair. "Jamison's helping." Christian makes a silly face as he bends to kiss Jamison's cheek.

"You've been helping Mommy?" I notice Christian's eyes land on the trash can which has the lid off. His mouth expands into a sly grin. "What's that?"

"It's a garbage can. It's where one tends to throw away garbage. Honestly Christian I would've thought you knew that.", I smirk.

"Your mommy is a comedian Jamison.", Christian sighs. "I mean what's that box in the garbage can? It looks like a frozen lasagna box."

"Because it is a frozen lasagna box. I was planning to make it from scratch, but after Jamison and I got home from visiting Candace and Maxie, I realized I still had a homework assignment to do. I got him down for his nap and sat down to do my work. Once I had it done and sent, I got an email for an essay which I wen ahead and started. Time got away from me so I sent Bryce to pick up one a frozen lasagna at the store. Are you upset?"

"Why would I be upset?"

"Because you might have been expecting a nice dinner cooked from scratch." He opens the fridge and pulls out the bowl of sliced carrots I prepared. He offers me one, but I shake my head.

"Ana, I'm not upset. I've had frozen lasagna before and loved it." He takes a quick bite of a carrot and then kisses my forehead. "I'm proud of you. You're not going to classes on campus, but you're still staying up to date with your work in addition to taking care of the baby."

"I've had a few moments where I've thought about just dropping the schooling all together."

"I won't let you do that. I understand your desire to continue your classes online, but I won't stand by and watch you give up something you want to do."

"I'm not going to quit.", I assure him. "I plan on sticking to it till the end. I was merely saying I get stressed and frustrated. I get over it."

"Good. For future reference, I have the perfect way to get over your stress and frustration." His arms are around me as he traps me against the counter. Jamison's jabbering brings us back to reality. "Daddy was only talking to Mommy.", Christian tells the baby.

"We don't want to traumatize him."

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"If it isn't my lovely trouble making sister." I stand and hug Mia after she arrives at Till The Last Drop, a new coffee place near my office.

"Why did you call me trouble making?", she asks.

"Maybe trouble making is the wrong word, but I believe you know why I called you that. The little lies you concocted about Elliot and Spencer each going out on dates with other people." The waitress comes over and starts to hand us menus, but I hold my hand up. "I'm going to have a large coffee, no creamer and with two sugars."

"I'll have a large latte.", Mia tells the woman.

"This is the easiest order I've had all day.", the waitress says. "I'll be right back." She goes to start working on our beverages.

"My intentions were in the right place, but my methods weren't the best. I called and apologized to both Elliot and Spencer. They were upset but also understood where I was coming from."

"It could have backfired and ended up making things worse.", I tell her. Our cups are placed in front of us. "Thank you."

"Yeah thanks.", Mia murmurs, picking up her spoon. "I shouldn't have done it. Elliot told me he and Spencer are going to start couples therapy. It was actually his idea."

"Spencer told Ana about it. I think it'll be good for them. They have issues to get through but are good together." I observe her as she takes the first sip of her latte. "How is it?"

"Yummy. What was my adorable nephew doing when you left this morning?"

"He was crawling and getting into things, his new favorite hobby."

"Have you and Ana talked about more kids?", she asks, bringing my first attempt at drinking my coffee to a standstill. "There I go interfering again. You and Ana are so incredible with Jamison. Ignore my question."

"When Ana and I have more children will be a decision we'll make together. It won't involve the opinion of others." Even though I'm trying to be serious with Mia, I feel myself smiling at the thought of one day having more kids with Ana.

"And it should be your decision. I've got to stop my diarrhea of the mouth."

"It's an interesting name for it, but I agree. You need to focus on your life and not worry so much about others. Concentrate on you and Ben. Things are good with the two of you?"

"They're wonderful. Ben's incredible. I think my problem is I want a life where there's nothing but happiness."

"I like that, but unfortunately life isn't an easy road. There's going to be bumps and detours, but you have to faith things will fall into place like they should."

"You're right."

* * *

><p>"Mia asked me during our coffee meeting whether you and I have discussed more kids?" Rubbing the last of her lavender lotion on her arms, she pads to the bed where I've been going over some contracts. "I told her it was between us."<p>

"Good answer.", she says after getting in beside me. "It's something we'll decide together."

"But the only talk we've had about other kids is that we want more at some point." She grabs and starts fluffing her pillow. "Well?"

"This is a conversation you want to have right now, just before we go to sleep? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened Ana. We don't have to talk about it now."

"I want to wait until Jamison's a little older, and I'd also like to be done with my schooling. There shouldn't be a rush since neither of us are going anywhere. You're not going somewhere, are you?", she asks.

"I'm here to stay. I agree with the waiting. Your schooling is important.", I say while reaching to turn off the lamp.

"Not as important as you and Jamison." Her body slinks down in the bed with her legs wrapping around mine. She then catches me off by guard by moving on top me. Her right hand moves down and inside my boxers where she starts running her hand over my hardened cock. "How about we do something about this?" She pulls her pajama shirt over her head, exposing her perfect breasts.

"Why Mrs. Grey, you're a little minx.", I whisper.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**C POV**

"Christian, come on in." Ray moves from the front door so I can enter his house. I find myself standing in the middle of the living room, puzzled about why he called and asked me to drop by. "Sit down." I sit down on the edge of the sofa as he sits down in his recliner. "You're wondering why I asked you here?"

"I always like seeing you, but I was a little surprised when you called me. Ray, is everything ok?"

"I'm sorry for making you think the worst when I called. The nature of my asking you to come by is actually good. Mary and I have yet to set a wedding date, but we're starting to go over some of the plans. One of the first things I wanted to do was choose my best man. I'd like that to be you."

"You want me to be your best man?"

"If you want to be. When Ana first met you, I underestimated how important of a role you would end up playing in my own life. You've been there for me when I needed to talk or ask for advice. I can count on you." I smile at his words. "Well?"

"Ray, I'd be honored to be your best man. I was nervous when we first met. There I was dating your daughter, but you welcomed me into your family. The being there goes both ways. Your words of wisdom have been key." A lightbulb goes off in my head. "With you just now starting to make plans, is it safe to assume you haven't found a location yet?"

"We haven't. There are a few places we've discussed but nothing has jumped out at us."

"Why don't you guys get married at our house?", I ask, catching him by surprise. "We've got plenty of space."

"Thank you for you offer, but the last thing Mary and I want is to be an inconvenience to you and Ana. I'm sure we'll find a suitable place." I rest my hands on my knees and lock eyes with him. "You're not letting to take a simple no."

"Not yet. At least discuss it with Mary. Find out how she feels about the idea, and then you can give me a simple yes _or_ no." His recliner rocks back a little as he ponders my suggestion.

"I'll talk it over with Mary when she gets home this evening, and I get back with you on what we decide. Oh, where is my head. We have decided on another piece of the ceremony, the ring bearer. Mary and I would like to have Jamison to do it if it's ok with you and Ana. One of you could walk with him down the aisle or even pull him in a wagon." Visualizing Jamison dressed up in a suit or tux brings a surge of giddiness to my face. Yes I said giddiness. Being a husband and father will do that to you.

"I'll mention it to Ana, but it's almost a given that she'll agree. Jamison will look so adorable."

* * *

><p>"What's wrong?", Taylor asks. He and I were heading up the walkway to the house when I heard clapping, loud clapping echoing from the house.<p>

"Did you hear the clapping?" He takes a hurried glimpse at the house. "You had to have heard it."

"I heard something, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation behind it." He leads to the house and front door. The sound seemingly comes to a halt the second he turns the doorknob. In the foyer, we're greeted by Ana who sprints from the living room.

"Good evening.", she says in an awkward sound. "Taylor, Gail and Riley are in the living room with Jamison." Taylor nods and goes to join them. Ana's lips greet mine in a slow kiss. When she pulls away, I continue getting the feeling something is going is going on. "How was work?"

"Work was work.", I shrug. "Your dad called and asked if I could stop by on my way home. He wanted to talk to you." Her face falls. "Baby, it wasn't anything bad. He wanted to ask if I would be his best man in the wedding. I said yes." She grabs my hand and walks beside me into the living room. Taylor has Riley snuggled against his chest while Gail is watching Jamison from one of the chairs. I stand by the doorway and admire Jamison as he goes about his playing. He eventually looks my way and grins. "Hey little man." In the corner of my eye, I notice Ana and Gail sharing glancing at each other. "What's going on here?"

"Huh? Why do you think something is going on?", Ana scoffs.

"I heard clapping before we came inside the house. Add that to the weirdness you're reflecting, and I know something is up." Once again, Ana and Gail's eyes meet. "The looks you and Gail between you and Gail aren't helping your case."

"I have news.", Ana murmurs, dropping my hand on her way to the sofa. "You know how Jamison has been pulling himself up and holding on to the furniture?" I smile at the memory of the first day he pulled his tiny body up and held on to the sofa.. He had only been crawling a few days, but I told Ana he was on his way to walking. Even though he's continued the pulling up, he's yet to take a step.

"He walked, didn't he?", I ask although I know the obvious answer. I had hoped to share the memory of him taking his first steps. _Not happening_.

"He took two two steps and fell. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. He'll take more steps." I try to brush it off, but it's useless. I missed a milestone in my son's life.

"They were very small steps.", Gail says. It's clear she's trying to make me feel better. I bend my knees and hold my hands out to Jamison. He crawls to me and tucks his lower lips under his upper one. I pick him and start kissing his cheeks and then forehead.

"It's ok.", I tell them. My words are honest. "Do I wish I could have been here to see him? Yes. But I know there will be more milestones to come. Incidentally, Ray asked me about what could be another milestone. He and Mary would like Jamison to be the ring bearer. He said one of us could carry him down the aisle or perhaps pull him in a wagon. It's very possible Jamison can walk down the aisle."

"I'm going to cry just thinking about how cute he's going to be."

"I instantly started picturing it the second Ray asked. A wedding is supposed to be about the couple saying "I do". What if Jamison upstages them?", I joke.

* * *

><p><strong>A POV <strong>

"How do I look?" Spencer puts on a pair of oversized round black sunglasses and places her hands on her hips.

"Very stylish." We're enjoying a day of shopping at the Bellevue Center. She hands me a pair similar to hers except these have smaller frames. I roll my eyes and slide them but hold off on the hands on the hips move she demonstrated. "Well?"

"You look like one hot momma.", she giggles. I put my pair back on the rack while she keeps hers. "You should get them. Jamison, tell your mommy she needs to get those sunglasses. They look great on you." I put the glasses back on and look down at Jamison. He's more interested in chewing on his fingers. To appease her, I keep the glasses.

"When's your first therapy session?", I ask while we resume browsing.

"It was last night. We weren't suppose to go until tomorrow night, but the therapist had an opening and called to see we would be interested in going. For it to be the first session, it went well. Elliot and I still have things to work on, but progress is being made. How's your school work going?"

"I'm seriously considering dropping my courses...again. Only this time it'll be for good."

"What?" I'm looking directly at Spencer who didn't say a word. Spinning around, I see Maxie standing in front of me with a black dress in her hands. "You're dropping out?" She moves her head around me. "By the way, hi Spencer."

"Hey Maxie.", Spencer waves. "Ana, not to put you on the spot but share with us why you're considering dropping out."

"I've been doing well with my classes, but I don't think it's what I want anymore. The passion I once had for it is gone. Christian started talking the other night about more kids, and I gave him this speech about wanting to wait until I was done with school. I was lying through my teeth. I don't want to wait until I'm done with school because I don't want to finish school.", I groan.

"Why didn't you tell him that?", Maxie asks. She picks up a pair of black stiletto heels. "Do you think these would look good with this dress?"

"Definitely.", I answer. "Anyways, Christian's been supportive of me going to school. I see pride in his eyes when I tell him about my schoolwork. I feel like quitting will change that pride into disappointment."

"Ana, Ana, Ana.", Spencer mutters. "Your happiness is what Christian wants. He doesn't care whether that happiness comes from school or from being a mom. He's going to be proud of you no matter what you do, and that's all because of a four little word called love." Jamison coos from his stroller at the last word. "You tell her."

"I'll give it some more thought. Maxie, you're buying a new dress and heels. Could it that your blind date turned out ok?" She fiddles with the tag on the dress briefly and shrugs.

"It may have gone better than I had imagined it would.", she replies. "His name is Cooper, and he's a software developer. He loves animals and does woodwork in his spare time. He's also very good looking."

"Her mom set her up on a blind date.", I fill in Spencer. "A blind date Maxie was hesitant about going on at first."

"I can honestly say I've never been on a blind date.", Spencer says. "However, I've heard of many long lasting marriages that began with a blind date."

"Although we're not going to start planning that far ahead, I'm going out with him again tonight. This time I'm actually going to put some effort into what I'm wearing." I raise a brow at her. "I kind of wore the worst dress in my wardrobe since I wasn't anticipating the date to go well."

"You tried to sabotage the date?", Sawyer laughs. "Priceless." Daggers shoot from Maxie's eyes and on to him, causing him to hold his hand up in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven."

* * *

><p>"Have you got a minute?", Christian's sitting on the sofa with a mound of paperwork on the coffee table in front of him. He was going to work in the study but wanted to stay in the living room with Jamison in case the baby decided to take more steps. He insisted he could keep an eye on Jamison and still get his work done while I took a shower.<p>

"For you, I've got a lifetime." He pats the cushion next to me.

"Same goes for me even though I only need a little time to discuss something with you." I sit down and try to gather my senses.

"You're acting odd again. Are you about to tell me that Jamison took more steps today?"

"He didn't.", I laugh. "I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and practiced what I was going to say, but I can't even remember it now. I'm just going to come out and say it. Christian, I want to quit school."

"Why?"

"My heart isn't in it any more, and the last thing I want to do is spend my time doing something I don't want to do. You're probably upset and disappointed, but I can't go on pretending."

"But what about what you said the other night? You sounded confident with your words.", he says.

"I was worried about telling you the truth.", I murmur.

"You shouldn't have been afraid. I only want you to what's best for you. If you don't want to continue with school, don't. It's fine with me." I slide closer to him and kiss his cheek.

"Another tidbit, I want to start planning for another baby." The shock I thought he was going to display over the school issue is now on his face. "We've done a great job with Jamison."

"We have.", he says as we see that Jamison has moved in front of the sofa. He pulls himself up and giggles before...taking taking an unsteady step. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"You're seeing it."

"Jamison, you took a step." Jamison appears to sway like he's going to fall, but he wobbles into another step. "And another. I didn't miss it this time. I saw it. Ana, I saw him walk."

"You sure did."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"There he goes." My dad is memorized from his spot on the sofa where he's watching Jamison walk. Each step is accompanied by a sweet giggle.

"I could see here and watch him all day.", Christian laughs. He's sitting in the floor with his arms out for Jamison. The baby toddled happily to him. Mary and I are enjoying the show from the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

"How about some coffee?" After leading her into the kitchen, I start making a pot of coffee while Mary grabs our cups. "Christian's really excited about being Dad's best man."

"Ray's excited that Christian agreed. Also, thank you for offering the house for the ceremony." Last week, Christian told me he suggested to my dad that he and Mary get married at our house. After discussing it, they said yes.

"You're more than welcome. I'm available to help in any way. I can call florists for you. I also get in touch with some caterers."

"I do have one thing I need to ask of you. Ana, will you be my maid of honor?"

"Yes.", I reply. "I'd be honored. Thank you asking."

"I wouldn't want anyone else standing by me as I say my vows to your dad. You've always been like a daughter to me, even before I started dating Ray." Seeing the coffee is finished, I take one of the cups and fill it. I hand it to Mary and then fill the other cup. We take our coffee and sit down at the table. "We've been thinking of having the wedding in May. Considering that's only two months away, some may think there's not enough time to plan, but we want it to be small and intimate."

"Like I said, I'll do anything to help."

"How's school?", she asks. Besides worrying about Christian's reaction to me wanting to stop my schoolwork, I was also afraid how my dad would react. He's spoken several times about how proud he is of me furthering my education. It feels as if all the lights in the room have been replaced by a spotlight which is shining on me. I'm about to open my mouth when Jamison wobbles in the room. Christian and my dad are behind him with matching grins. I reach down and pull Jamison into my arms as I prepare to give my dad and Mary the school news.

"Funny you should ask.", I sigh.

"Ask about what?", my dad questions in confusion.

"Mary asked how school was going. I've decided to withdraw." Christian gives me a supportive wink.

"Sweetheart, I thought you wanted to go into interior design. You were excited about it."

"Was excited. The passion and enjoyment started slipping away little by little. I tried to tell myself it was only a phase that I'd get over, but it wasn't. Doing interior design was a dream at one point, but dreams change."

"I fully support whatever Ana wants to do.", Christian says.

"I hope I haven't disappointed with this news.", I tell my dad who is standing against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He pushes himself off the wall and moves next to me, wrapping his arms around my neck.

"I could never be disappointed in you. You make me proud every single day, and today is no exception."

* * *

><p>"So...I was scheduled for my shot next week, but I called Dr. Greene and told her I'm not going to do it.", I say while changing Jamison diaper the following morning. I toss the baby wipe in the trash can and notice Christian is silent as he stands beside the changing table. "Jamison, I think Daddy's mind is somewhere else." My baby boy babbles and moves his head so he can see Christian.<p>

"I'm sorry. You called Dr. Greene?"

"Yeah. I thought me not taking the shot was what we agreed upon the other night. If you've changed your mind, I can go ahead and get it. We can try for another baby down the road. It doesn't have to be now. I just thought it was what we both wanted."

"It is. I didn't mean to give you the impression that I don't." After handing me a fresh diaper, he sits down in one of the rocking chairs. "I had a voicemail on my phone this morning. It was from Susan Murphy. She wants me to call her."

"Did she say why?"

"Only that she has something important to tell me. She's called Charles several times, but this is the first time she's contacted me. I'm thinking she's hoping I'll be her messenger to him."

"You don't sound too certain."

"I can't put a finger on it, but her voice sounded odd. There was what sounded like a tinge of remorse added with some sadness. I'm probably reading into it too much.", he shrugs.

"The only way you'll have a definitive answer is if you call her back. Otherwise, those questions will remain." I finish changing Jamison and snap his onesie back. He wiggles in my arms with his own arms reaching for Christian. "Go Daddy." Christian's smile snaps back in place as I hand Jamison to him.

"Daddy needs some Jamison time before work."

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"Mr. Grey, Ms. Bailey, if you'll look at the folder in front of you, you'll find graphs showing the breakdown of the costs and labor.", Vincent Garrison from OmniCorp tells Ros and I. We're discussing partnering up in a new metals factory.

"These aren't the numbers we discussed.", Ros points out. "They're nowhere near what we had agreed upon."

"Yes I understand that, but my team and I got to rethinking some of the figures. It just so happens one of my friends can get us some of the supplies at a lower cost."

"One of your friends, huh?", I murmur while taking notes. "Since you feel the numbers were too high, maybe Ms. Bailey and I should do research and find another supplier." Garrison doesn't seem pleased with my suggestion. "News flash, partnering up on a deal requires all parties to be involved with decision making. You can't just go out and get your buddy to help without considering the opinions of everyone else."

"I thought I was doing a favor for everyone. We get things cheaper, and he gets the work. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.", he snaps.

"Mr. Grey is making a observation.", Ros replies. "One of the things neither of us ever do is make a rash business decision without talking it over with the other. You could have picked up the phone and called us, but instead you surprise us during what was supposes to be a meeting to finalize things."

"You're saying you want me to call my friend and tell him we don't need his help?"

"What we're saying is we're now going to go and look at other distributors, including your friend. If he's the best guy for the job, fine. If not, we move on. Are we clear?", I ask.

"Fine." He still doesn't sound too happy, but the bitter tone has gone down a bit. "I guess we have nothing else to discuss here today." He closes his files and stand, shaking our hands before going to the door. "I'll be in touch." Once he's gone, Ros starts gathering her things from the conference table.

"That guy's going to be difficult. I can feel it.", she tells me.

"I got that impression as well. I'm sure he thought we were going to let him run the entire thing. Oh, he got a rude awakening."

Ros heads to her office as I go towards mine. When I get to Andrea's desk, she's finishing up a call. I stand and wait to see if there are any messages. She places the phone back in the cradle and hands me the small pile of messages that came in while I was in my meeting.

"Mr. Grey, that was Edgar from the downstairs lobby. A woman by the name of Susan Murphy is insisting that she needs to see you. I told him I'd ask." The last person I want to talk to let alone see is Susan Murphy, but I also want to know why she traveled to Seattle to speak with me.

"Tell him to send her up." I stand and watch the elevator for any sign of the woman who cost Ella her happiness and ultimately her life. Minutes later, the door slides open. She slowly walks towards me. She appears to have lost weight and looks more fragile than the last time I saw her.

"Thank you for seeing me.", she says with what might be viewed by some as a smile, but I only see it as her being fake.

"I didn't return your call so you got on a plane and showed up?", I scoff.

"I was already in Seattle when I called you. Can we talk in private?" I lead her inside my head where she instantly sits down. "I normally would wait to be offered a seat, but I couldn't stand any longer." While I sit down, I notice she's staring at the photo of Jamison which rests on the wall behind my desk. "Is that your son?"

"Yes."

"How old is he?"

"Almost eleven months although that's more information than I should be sharing with you. Susan, tell me why you're in Seattle and more specifically here in my office."

"I've reached out to Charles numerous times over the past few months, but my attempts have fallen on deaf ears. I even traveled to New York two weeks ago, but I was told he was out of town." She's referring to the weekend Charles joined the guys on our fishing trip. "I suppose I could just give up which is what I was going to do, but life has a cruel sense of humor. I started a feeling unwell about a month ago. I was constantly tired and out of energy. I wasn't sure what going on so I went to my doctor who ordered some tests. They came back with some abnormalities. I was then sent to a specialist who after more tests diagnosed me with colon cancer. There had been no symptoms except for the exhaustion. It's stage three. I don't have much time left." What she's telling me could be a ploy to get me to feel sorry for her and then contact Charles for her, but it might be the truth.

"I'm sorry.", is all I can say.

"I have my medical records at my hotel in case you want to check up into what I've told you, but it's the truth. When I was given those dreaded words, I sat and thought about the life I've lived. I came from nothing. My parents struggled to put food on the table, something I vowed I would make sure I would never do. I was determined to be someone, and I was. I held the fanciest parties and wore the nicest clothes. I wanted the best for my son, but I saw Ella as nothing but a way to bring him down. In a way, she reminded me of myself, and that scared me. When you showed up at my house that day, all of the regrets I had kept locked away came rushing out. I put on a mask and blamed everyone but the one truly responsible, me. Internally, I hated myself. I still do. I have so many regrets which I don't expect to magically go away, but if I want to at least try."

"Susan, I'm sorry you're going through this, but I'm not sure I can help you."

"I understand. I'm sorry Christian. I'm deeply sorry for every single ounce of despair and pain I've caused."

* * *

><p>"Christian, are you crying?", Ana asks. I'm sitting with my back to the door of my study, but the sound of my sniffling has given me away. She pads to my desk and grips the back of my chair so she can turn it around. "You have. What's going on?"<p>

"I found out what Susan wanted to discuss with me. She came by my office today."

"She's in Seattle? What did she have to say?" Ana sits on the corner of my desk and swipes away some of my tears.

"She's dying.", I whisper in response. "I haven't seen her records, but I could in her face that he was telling the truth. She has stage three colon cancer and doesn't have much time left. She's trying to right some of her wrongs."

"Coming to you is one of those. How did that go?"

"I shouldn't be feeling sad or sympathetic towards her, but I do. I feel those things for the woman who ruined my birth mother's life. What does that say about me?"

"You're human. Even though she caused this huge domino effect, she's still a woman who is losing her life."

"One of the things she talked about was why she acted the way she did towards Ella. Apparently, Ella was like her before she became the wealthy wife and mother, and that scared her. I'm not going to embrace her."

"No one expects you to."

"And even though Ella was alone because of her, I feel bad that she's spending her last days alone. Fuck." Ana shifts closer to me, pressing her lips to mine in a kiss that becomes needy. I grip the nape of her neck and pull her off the desk. With one tug by my hands, her yoga pants and panties are off. Her body craves mine as much as mine desires hers. She goes for the zipper of my pants as I stand. I push both my pants and boxers to the floor just before setting her on the top of the desk. I slam into her and begin thrusting hard and deep. Her fingers tangle into my hair while I fuck her. Her legs wrap around my body, pressing me even deeper inside her.

"Christian.", she moans with her orgasm near. "Oh. Fuck me."

"I am baby. I'm fucking you so hard.", I growl. She throws her head back in ecstasy at her release. My grinding into her continues until I spill my seed into her.

"That was um...very nice.", she giggles.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"I was hoping all the sex we had would wear you out." Christian exhales a slight chuckle at my teasing. I stride into the kitchen, my hand grazing his on my way to the chair across from his at the table. "Do you want to tell me why you're awake at four a.m?"

"Do you want to tell me why you're awake at four a.m.?", he smirks.

"I woke up and may have been a little turned on and in need of my husband, but he wasn't there. It's Susan, isn't it?" Susan's news that she's dying has consumed Christian's mind. He called Charles last night, but Charles said he didn't want anything to do with his mother despite the fact that she doesn't have much time left.

"I wish Charles would change his mind and talk with Susan. She messed up big time, but I don't want her to be alone. I also don't want him to end up regretting what might have been when it's too late. I suppose I should call and tell her that I tried to get him to talk with her, but I don't have the heart to disappoint her."

"When did she say she's returning to Detroit?", I ask.

"This afternoon. I sort of want to see her before she leaves, but I'm not sure." Christian's view of Susan has lightened, but he still carries resentment towards her for her hand in Ella's downfall. "She saw Jamison's photo that's on the wall behind my desk. Other than telling his age, I didn't divulge any more information about him. That was before she told me why she did what she did and about her cancer."

"And now you want to to tell her more about Jamison." His nod is immediately turned into a shake of the head.

"I'm so confused. The woman is responsible for Ella and Charles breaking up and therefore Charles not knowing about me. Let's not forget the downfall Ella took as a result of Susan's meddling."

"Remember what I told you last night. You're human. It's ok to have sympathy for someone who has done wrong." He rubs his eyes which are filled with tears. "As sad as it is, death has a way of changing people and they way they see things."

"I'm going to do. I'm going to go and see her before she leaves. It might not possibly be the last time I ever see her, and I'd like if you were there with me." I slide my hand across the table and into his open one.

"I'll be there."

"Bring Jamison too. I'd like for her to meet him."

* * *

><p>"Ben's been working nights the past week.", Mia mutters from her living room floor where she's trying to do Pilates. I'm fairly certain the way she's moving her body isn't the normal way the exercise is done. She asked me to join in, but I passed and said I was content with observing. "Being a doctor means his schedule is going to be all over the place, but this is actually the first time since we've been living together that he's not here at night."<p>

"And you're not doing ok with it?", I ask, alternating my eyes from her to Jamison who's playing on an extra Pilates mat.

"I guess I got used to having him next to me at bedtime, and now it takes forever to fall asleep. I drifted off last night around ten which many people would see as a decent time except I woke up at midnight on the dot. I couldn't get back to sleep no matter what I tried. I gave up and started organizing the bedroom closet. Once that was finished, I started watching some tv. There's not a lot of quality tv on at that time of night. I hoped some of the cheesy infomercials would make me sleepy. Nada."

"A glass of warm milk has always been my go-to sleep remedy. Did you try that?"

"I was going to, but we were out of milk. I considered driving to the all night grocery store a few blocks away and buying some, but when I sat down on the sofa to put my shoes on, I fell asleep."

"Did you stay asleep that time?"

"By some miracle, yes. I woke up this morning in the bed. It seems Ben got home about seven and carried me to the bedroom."

"Aww. I'm sorry you had a rough time. Is the night shift going to be just for this week or is it going to be longer?" Mia stands and balances her entire body on one foot, a feat she gives herself a thumbs up on. "Good job.", I giggle.

"Thanks, and as of right now, it looks like he might be alternating days and nights, work days one week and then nights the next. His body is going to be so confused and won't know when it's time to sleep." Jamison eases to his feet and waddles to his aunt who moves back to both feet before picking him up. "It's hard to believe he'll be one soon. It seems like yesterday he was being born." I redirect my attention to the floor so I won't become emotional over the fact that my baby boy is almost one. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I'm not crying."

"Those aren't tears in your eyes?", Mia asks.

"It's kind of sad knowing he's getting older. Seeing him take his first steps was incredible, but it was also bittersweet. It was one more memory checked off the list." She gets off her mat and stands in front of me as Jamison's mouth curls into a smile. "How does one smile make me feel better?"

"It's magic. What time are you and Christian going to see Susan?" When Mia called this morning to invite me over, I told her about Christian and I going to visit with Susan before she leaves Seattle. Glancing down at my watch, I see that it's already one.

"Not for another two hours, but we should be going." I stand and pick Jamison up. "I hope you have a easier time going to sleep tonight."

"You and me both. I'm going to go and get that milk in a few minutes." She leans down and kisses Jamison's forehead. "Aunt Mia loves you."

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"Thanks again for coming here with me." Ana and I are on the elevator at the Fairmont where Susan is staying. Her flight back to Detroit was originally scheduled for three thirty, but she decided to take a later flight after learning that Ana and I were going to visit her. Another person tagging along is Jamison.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." The elevator stops on Susan's floor, and we step off, looking to the left and then the right.

"It's to the left I believe." From Ana's arms, Jamison's taking in all the sights around him while we make our way to Susan's suite. "This is it." I lightly tap on the door and return the comforting smile Ana's giving me. We hear the sound of feet gently touching the floor on the other side of the door which is opened by Susan. She appears to be even more frail than yesterday. "Hi." Her eyes instantly go to Ana and Jamison. "You remember my wife Ana."

"Yes. Come in." She waves us inside the spacious suite. "I'm sorry about my behavior during our last meeting. I was rude and well, in the simplest terms, not a very nice person."

"It's ok.", Ana replies. "Christian and I would like you to meet our son Jamison."

"Hello there Jamison.", Susan says softly. "You're very cute." Jamison jabbers in response, making Susan laugh. "You know you're cute. Let's go and have a seat." Ana and I sit down on the beige sofa while Susan settles in a matching arm chair. "I was surprised when you called and said you were stopping by, but I'm so happy you're here. Have you by any chance spoken to Charles?"

"I did.", I murmur, letting my face tell her the rest.

"He still doesn't want to see me. I don't blame him. I'm a horrible person who deserves to be alone."

"You're not alone. I can't promise you a normal grandmother, grandson relationship. It's not possible. I can try and include you in our lives." She closes her eyes and reopens them with tears.

"Despite the fact that I've been an awful person?"

"I believe you regret what you did and the way you acted."

"I do with all my heart.", she sniffles. "Just as I see a part of Charles when I look at you, I see a part of you when I look at Jamison."" Jamison starts squirming in Ana's arms so she places him on the floor where he takes off. "And he's walking."

"He just started.", Ana replies with pride.

"Charles was into everything once he started walking. Sometimes keeping up with him felt like a full time job. He'd hide behind the curtains and laugh. He had such a wonderful laugh. It's been forever since I've heard it, and I'm the one to blame for that." Jamison moves to her as there's a knock at the door. "I wonder who that could be." She stands and goes to the door, gasping after opening it. Ana and I look at each other and then towards the door.

"Hello Mom.", we hear Charles say.

"Charles, you're here.", Susan sighs. She opens the door wider for him to enter the room. The two of them stand and stare at the other before Charles breaks into tears. He pulls her into his arms as Ana and I watch.

"Things have been said and done, but at the end of the day, you're still my mother who I love. I tried to convince myself I was doing the right thing by not being there for you. It was useless." With her still in his arms, he looks at me and mouths thank you.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh. Enough of the apologizing. I don't want to dwell on the past."

"You're right. Let's live in the here and now."

* * *

><p>"So Charles is going back to Detroit with Susan?", Ana asks. We're sitting in the living room while resting from the emotional visit to Susan. After Charles arrived, we spent almost two hours talking with him and Susan before leaving mother and son alone. It was emotionally draining but worth it.<p>

"Yeah. He's going to take a leave of absence from work, and then he's going to meet with her doctor. I'm glad he changed his mind."

"I think maybe he's been so overwhelmed with all that's happened, and he needed just a little time to try to process the news that his mother's dying."

"It's been a trying time.", I mutter. "Jamison seems to like her."

"He does.", Ana giggles.

"Since our little guy is snoozing away upstairs, why don't we go and get back to practicing for his new brother or sister?"

"I'm all for some horizontal mambo even though it's going to be a fruitless effort."

"Is something wrong? Ana, baby, whatever it is going on, tell me. We'll get through it together.", I say while fear and worry take over.

"You can't try to get pregnant when you're already pregnant.", she whispers. I turn my entire body around so I can get a full view of her. "I've been a little emotional so I after Jamison and I left Mia and Ben's I came home and took one of the tests I bought last week. With us on the path of trying, I wanted to have some tests on hand when needed."

"But your shot?", I ask.

"It must have ended sooner. I thought the result might be have been a false positive, but the second test showed the same. They were both positive. I thought about telling you on the way to see Susan, but I didn't feel the timing was right. She's dying, and we have a new life on the way." I've lost count with the numbers of times I've cried lately, but unlike most of them, the ones falling now are happy tears. Ana and I are having another baby. Jamison's getting a sibling. Our family is growing. "You're not saying much."

"My happiness has left me speechless, but you just gave me the best news."


	8. Chapter 8

**C POV**

"When do you want to tell everyone about the new baby?" Ana snaps her seatbelt and tilts her head at me with the cutest smile on her face. I glance at Taylor who's listening to music with his ear buds. He's under the pretense that our doctor's visit was to ready ourselves for trying for another baby. "Why does that look make me think you want to hold off?"

"I might." She points at the hospital where we've just left from her appointment with Dr. Greene. "We've only known for two weeks and just got it confirmed by Dr. Greene. I'd like to keep the news to ourselves for a while if that's ok."

"That's fine. I'll do my best to hide my happiness." I was ecstatic last week when Ana told me she was pregnant and even more so today when Dr. Greene told us Ana's already six weeks along. Seeing the baby on the screen was incredible. There in front of us was another product of our love who along with Jamison will be showered with affection.

"All I ask is for you to try, and I'll do the same. Maybe we should make a pact. If at any time either of us feel tempted to reveal the news, we immediately find the other."

"Baby, I'll try, but sometimes I have diarrhea of the mouth when it comes to joyful news.", I laugh. Taylor turns out on to the highway and begins heading to the house. Taylor and I picked up Ana for the appointment, but I've got to get back to the office.

"Are you going to come inside when we get to the house?", she asks. I want more than anything to see Jamison's face, but I know one look at his face will make it even more difficult to go back to work.

"Just for a few minutes."

* * *

><p>Upon arriving at the house, we're greeted at the door by Gail who's holding Riley in her arms and Jamison who draws his lips into a pout, wanting me to pick him up. Taylor takes Riley from Gail and begins peppering kisses on the baby's cheeks. The two of us glance at each and grin.<p>

"I don't see you leaving any time soon.", Ana giggles. "I'm going to go and get his bottle ready."

"I'm going to do the same for Riley.", Gail says. She follows Ana into the kitchen as Taylor and I sit down with the babies.

"I bet you never the day would come in which the two of us were holding babies.", I tell Taylor.

"Not really, but it's an incredible feeling." He grabs a burp cloth from the couch arm and wipes some drool from the corner of Riley's mouth. Riley kicks her tiny feet as she starts whimpering. "Shh. It's ok angel."

"We're back.", Ana announces. She pads to the sofa with Jamison's bottle in her hand. "Do you want to take him so you can get back to the office?" Taylor's already taken Riley's bottle from Gail and started feeding the baby. Ana, reading my mind, hands me Jamison's bottle. She snuggles to my side and rubs the baby's cheek tenderly while he starts in on his bottle.

"Are you sure you don't want us to watch him while you go to dinner tonight?", Gail asks. Ana and I are having dinner with Elliot and Spencer, our first dinner with them since they got back together.

"Thanks for offering, but my parents are looking forward to keeping him.", I answer. Halfway through Jamison's feeding, my phone rings from my pocket. Ana gently takes him from me so I can answer the call. "It's Ros. She's probably wondering why I haven't gotten back to the office yet." I stand and slip into the study to take the call. "Before you ask, I'm at the house with Jamison and Ana. I wanted to spend some time with them before heading back to the office." I told Ros a completely different story from Taylor about why I had to leave work. The fake reason, I needed to accompany Ana to the dentist for a chipped tooth.

"I dropped some papers off and was told by Andrea you hadn't gotten back yet. How's Ana?"

"She's doing well." I stick my head out of the door briefly and see Ana's now burping Jamison. "Very well."

"I'm glad to hear that. The papers I dropped off for you don't have to be signed until tomorrow so you don't have to worry about coming back to work if you don't want to."

"How kind of you Ros.", I tease. "But I'll be back soon." I finish the call and return to the living room. "I guess I should get back to work. Taylor, are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be.", he sighs. He kisses Riley and then Gail. "Ladies, I shall return this evening." Gail blushes and retrieves Riley from him.

"I'll see the three of you later.", I whisper in Ana's ear.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Grey, Ms. Bailey dropped these off for you." Andrea hands me the papers Ros left for me.<p>

"Yes. I spoke with her over the phone about these. Thank you."

In my office, I close the door and sit down with the papers. Half of them are in regards to the sale of a warehouse downtown which I own but no longer have use for. Grabbing my pen, I prepare to start signing, but I get the sudden urge to call Charles. He and I have been in more contact in the two weeks since he and Susan returned to Detroit. The phone rings four times before he answers it.

"Christian, hi.", Charles answers. He sounds exhausted.

"Hi. I'm at work but decided to call and see how you and Susan are doing."

"I was actually about to call you myself. I'm at the hospital with her now. We were sitting outside when she got light-headed. I called 911 immediately." Although Susan's never going to make up for her actions, I feel compassion for her and don't want her life to end. "Her blood pressure had dropped. The doctors have her stabilized and think she might be released in the morning."

"Is there anything I can do?", I ask.

"No. All I can do is sit and let her know I'm here for her."

"Just that helps." I hear another voice on the other side of the phone.

"Christian, she just woke up so I'm going to go and visit with her for a while. I'll call you later to give an update."

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." I hang up the phone and brush away the tears in my eyes while hearing a knock at the door. "Come in." Ros opens the door and looks at me curiously. "Charles called and said Susan's in the hospital." She walks across the floor and around my desk, placing her arms around me. "They think she'll be able to go home tomorrow though."

"I'm sorry." She lets go and smiles as I compose myself.

"I was about to start on the papers you left when he called." I only now see the folder in her hand. "More things to sign?"

"Only a few." I take the papers, but Ros continues standing by my desk with a smirk. "Yes?"

"I was wondering how Ana chipped her tooth?"

"It just happened.", I shrug. "Why are you asking?"

"Call it me being curious. When you told me earlier you were leaving, you seemed excited which is odd considering you were going to the dentist with your wife. I've never seen anyone with that much excitement over the dentist." _Don't break. Don't break._

"You're wasting your time if you think there's more going on."

"I'll leave it for now."

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

"How can I help?", Elliot asks after striding into the kitchen and placing his arms around Spencer's waist. Spencer spins around on her heels and cocks her head in contemplation.

"You know that room you just came from?"

"The living room. Do you need me to tidy up in there?"

"I need you to go back in there with your brother until dinner is ready. I appreciate you wanting to help, but there's nothing I need help with." She grabs his collar and pulls him to him, kissing him passionately. Elliot's left hand is about to go underneath her blouse until she smacks it away. "Easy fella. We have guests."

"I'm sure Ana and Christian won't mind if we excused ourselves for thirty minutes.", Elliot jokes.

"Thirty minutes? Aren't you being ambitious.", Spencer teases back. "Go back in the living room with Christian, and I'll make it worth your while later." Elliot sprints out of the room.

"I see things are going well.", I tell Spencer as I start setting the table.

"They are. We've been working on things in and out of therapy. We had a small tiff yesterday, but we got our coats and went for a walk to clear our heads. There wasn't any yelling. When it was over, both of us felt better. The breakup was hard, but in a way it needed to happen. Does that make sense?"

"You needed something to help give you a push to work on things. I get it." My stomach begins churning. I place my hand over my mouth and hope I'm able to control the sudden nausea. I was sick earlier this morning but have been feeling better since then.

"Ana?" Spencer drops the spoon in her hand and hurries to me.

"I'm good.", I murmur. "I had a meatball sandwich earlier, and I'm regretting it now."

"Is that all that's going on?"

"Yeah, and I'm already starting to feel better. Are we almost ready for dinner?"

"Everything is ready. I'll go and get the guys. Why don't you go ahead and sit down?" I sit down while she alternates her steps to the living room with glances at me. Only a few moments later she returns with Elliot and Christian. "Ana's not feeling well."

"What's wrong?", a panicked Christian asks.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I started feeling a little nauseous, but it passed." Christian sits down next to me and places his hand on mine.

"If you start feeling sick again, let us know.", Elliot says.

* * *

><p>Luckily, my nausea doesn't make a reappearance, and dinner goes off without a hitch. The change in Elliot and Spencer was clear as they talked and listened to each other. Christian and Elliot insist that Spencer and I not touch a thing on the table and leave the clean up to them.<p>

"I realize Jamison's only eleven months old, but have you and Christian started thinking about what kind of a birthday party you're giving?", Spencer asks me after we settle in the living room.

"We haven't although we should get started. It needs to be memorable." I hear Christian and Elliot bantering back and forth in the kitchen before the sound of a phone interrupts. Christian's faint voice is now all I hear. He treads into the living room with tears. "What is it?" When Christian doesn't answer, I look to Elliot. "Do you know?"

"He got a call from Charles is all I know. He hasn't said anything about it."

"She was going home tomorrow.", Christian mumbles. "But she's gone."

"Susan? What happened?"

"Charles said he had been at her bedside almost the entire time, but he stepped out of the room for something to drink. When he returned, she had stopped breathing. The doctors worked on her, but it was too late. They think she had a heart attack." I get up and place engulf him with my arms. "Charles thought they had more time."

"It's ok. I know saying goodbye to her wasn't something that any one wanted, but she's not suffering."

"She was my grandmother. The woman did terrible things, but she was my grandmother, and now she's gone. She's gone Ana."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"Give Jamison a bunch of kisses and hugs from us. We'll call on check on him later. Love you too. Bye." Christian's smile isn't reaching his eyes as he puts his phone back on the nightstand. Like me, he misses Jamison, but our baby boy is back in Seattle with Carrick and Grace while we attend Susan's funeral tomorrow. One of the things she and Charles discussed during her last days were her funeral. She didn't want a visitation, only a small service at the church she attended. Christian and I arrived in Detroit an hour ago and will be leaving tomorrow after the service.

"He's in good hands with your parents.", I tell Christian. He goes to his suitcase and pulls out the framed photos of Jamison he placed safely between his shirts and pants.

"I know, but I miss him." I move behind him and rest my head on his shoulder, joining him in admiring the photo of Jamison. "Looking at this photo helps somewhat in making this trip more bearable. Besides Susan's funeral, the general emotions of being back in Detroit are there." The time we were in Detroit was to face Susan about her knowledge of Christian's mother Ella being pregnant by Charles years ago, yet not telling Charles. We also made a stop at Ella's grave where Christian had a heart to heart with the her.

"Do you want to go by Ella's grave while we're here?"

"Yes. No. I don't know.", he mutters as he sets the frame down. "In a way I feel like I said all that was needed during our last visit, but I also feel like I need to."

"It's your choice. We have some a little time this afternoon before it gets dark, and we'll have some time tomorrow."

"I'll go tomorrow if I decide on it." His lips start gravitating towards mine, but a surge of nausea sends me scurrying to the bathroom. I drop to the cold linoleum floor and empty all the contents of my stomach. Christian wets a cloth and wipes the side of of my face before taking rubbing my back. "This may not be the best time, but you to need to eat." I lift my head and glare at him. "It needed to be said. You've barely ate today."

"I had some peanut butter and crackers on the plane along with an apple. That was after the large breakfast I had." He helps me to my feet and takes a fresh wash cloth to my forehead. "I had almost forgotten how you get when I'm pregnant."

"Protective? Concerned? Overbearing? Yeah. I tend to act those ways, but I mean well."

"I know you do, and it's sweet. I'm going to change before we leave to meet with Charles." Christian and I are going to Susan's house where Charles is staying.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for coming.", Charles says after we step inside the living room of Susan's house. A cloud of somberness surrounds the room which was filled with anger and hurt during our last visit here. "I realize she may not have been the nicest person to you in the beginning, but it means a lot having you here."<p>

"Things might have not been the best at first, but we had started mending fences the best way we could.", Christian replies. We sit down on the sofa while Charles pads around the room, stopping at photos and other items in the room.

"It's weird being in this house without her. She had this presence about her."

"It's good you were with her during her final days.", I tell him. He turns from the vase on the mantle and smiles through tears. "You told Christian the service was going to be small."

"It was what she wanted. My mom hosted countless parties and participated in numberous social events with people who at the time she felt were friends. Sadly, many of them only pretended in order to get their foot in the door to high society. It occurred to me when I was about sixteen, and my mom was hosting a holiday party. One of the women attending was Lisa Rourke. She was a few years younger than my mother and had just married a well respected lawyer here in Detroit. My parents were acquaintances of Greg, Lisa's husband, so my mother decided to embrace Lisa and help her learn the basics of events hosting and so on. I could see my mom saw a real friendship, yet I also sensed Lisa was using my mother. A few months down the road, my dad came home and told how he had heard about this big birthday bash for Greg being given by Lisa. My mom was certain their invite was either lost or Lisa had mistakenly forgot to call. I was standing by this very fireplace when she sat down in her chair and called Lisa. The smile on her face gradually faded as their conversation went on. When it was over, I saw tears although she claimed she had something in her eye. She didn't tell me what had been said, but I overheard her and my father talking later that night. Lisa had told my mom she no longer needed her."

"Damn. That's harsh.", Christian murmurs.

"I waited a week and asked my mom if she had heard from Lisa, and she answered by saying she didn't desire being friends with Lisa any more. I knew it wasn't the truth and even told her what I had heard. She tried her best to discount me. Back to the present and the last two weeks where only two of her friends and her minister came to see her. The day she went to the hospital she and I were sitting in her sunroom and reminiscing. She brought up the subject of not having her so called friends visit and even though there was hurt, it was minimum. Evidently, it slowly started sinking in to her a while ago that people weren't who they seemed. She then told me she would rather have a few true friends than many fake ones. That led her to the decision of having only a small service with the us and the two friends who had visited along with the minister of her church."

"I can see why she would want that. Tomorrow is going to be a day of memorializing which shouldn't be done by people with dishonest intentions.", I say.

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"The flowers you sent are lovely. One of her hobbies was gardening. She would spend hours at a time tending to the flowers and making sure they were perfect. I'm sure she's smiling now at the arrangement from you."

"I wasn't sure what her favorite flower was so I just told the florist to send a mixture." Charles lets out a small laugh.

"It' even more perfect. Despite her love for gardening, she didn't have a favorite flower. She would make sure a fresh bouquet was placed in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. It's very rare for the three rooms to have the same flower. My father was convinced she secretly had a favorite, but she told him it wasn't true." We walk to the casket where Charles places his hand on the top. His eyes close as a man dressed in a black suit approaches us.

"Charles?", the man says. Charles opens his eyes and smiles slightly at the man. "I'm sorry for interrupting your moment."

"It's fine. Christian, Ana, this is Keith Perry, Mom's minister. Keith, this is Christian and Ana Grey." The minister gives a knowing look which is caught by Ana and I along with Charles. "Yes Christian is my son who you heard about."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Christian and Ana. Susan came to me several months ago and told me what took place all those years ago. Although one can't rewind time, she was determined to make things as better as possible. On the day of her diagnosis, she showed up at my office where she broke down in tears, telling me that even though she felt her efforts to right things was failing, she was still going to continue trying. Our correspondence became more frequent at the end with me either visiting or calling her."

"Mom thought of you as more than her minister. She saw you as a friend."

"And I saw her the same way." The sound of heels clicking against the hardwood of the church diverts all of our eyes to two approaching women. One is short with a shoulder length blonde hair while the other average height with black hair. Both women appear to be around Susan's age. They stop and stare at Susan's casket, wiping away real tears which leads me to believe they're the two friends Charles mentioned.

"Charles, hello.", the blonde says as she hugs him. The black-haired one then moves and embraces him in her arms.

"Hi dear.", she tells him.

"Thank you for being here and well...being Mom's friends. She valued the friendship the three of you had. I'd like for you to meet Christian and Ana Grey. Christian, Ana, this is Marilyn Townsend." He nods at the blonde and then the other woman. "And Janice Vaughn, Mom's friends." The two women trade glances and then repeat the same look the minister gave.

"We heard about you, both of you.", Marilyn says warmly. "And that adorable baby of yours. Susan spent almost an hour gushing about his cuteness. She was thrilled that she got to meet him."

"We were happy that she got to as well. He seemed to take up with her.", Ana smiles.

We take our seats as the service gets underway. Ana and I are on the front left pew while Marilyn and Janice are on pew across from us. Charles and Keith are seated in chairs by the casket. Keith stands and walks to the podium.

"Thank you all for gathering here today to pay your final respects to Susan Murphy. I knew Susan many, many years, and like you, I'm grieving the loss of her, but I encourage you to join me in celebrating her. At this time Susan's son Charles will speak. Keith pats Charles on the back as the two men trade places.

"To many, she was intimidating and difficult to get to know. I was even one of those people at one time.", Charles chuckles lightly. "The ironic thing is I knew her my entire life, but it was only during the last two weeks that I actually got to truly know her. She and I laughed and cried more times than I can remember. Not having her here in body is difficult to grasp, but knowing she's not in pain and in a better place gets me through the day." He wipes away tears and then turns to the casket. "I love you Mom." Ana's hand which has been in mine tightens with the onset of tears falling from our faces.

"It was a lovely service.", I tell Charles once the service is over.

"Yeah. It was.", he murmurs. "Just what she wanted. The cemetary she's being buried in isn't too far from the one where Ella's buried. Do you want to stop by there?" I wasn't sure yesterday if I wanted to make a return visit to Ella's grave, but I've decided to go.

"Ok."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"Morning Bryce.", Christian says while wiping up the coffee he spilled on the table. Bryce manuevers around the table, making sure he doesn't get in the way of Christian's cleanup.

"Good morning. Usually coffee goes in a cup and not on the table."

"I thought I'd mix things up a little this morning." Christian was slightly agitated after knocking his cup over, but his attitude brightened the moment he heard Jamison giggling from his high chair. Our baby boy has his eyes fixed on Christian, but I'm miraculously still able to feed his cereal to him.

"Is April still anxious about going back to work?" April's first day back at work is today although Christian told her she could take off a little longer if she wasn't ready. She considered his offer but decided to go ahead and return today. Bryce's mother is watching Alex while his parents work.

"Not as much as she was. My mom promised to keep her posted about Alex throughout the day.", Bryce answers. Gail opens the side door and walks into the kitchen with Riley's diaper bag on her shoulder while Taylor follows behind her with a wide awake Riley in her stroller. "Good morning Taylors."

"Hi.", they reply together, making Gail blush. She places the diaper bag on the counter and starts to pick up Riley, but Taylor gets to the baby first.

"I just want to hold her for a while before it's time to leave.", he tells her gently. "Daddy's going to miss his little girl today." He kisses the baby's cheek and then turns his attention to Bryce. "I guess I'll be seeing April at the office today."

"You will.", Bryce answers. "So Ana, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I'm going to the diner to meet with Mary so we can discuss flowers and other decorations for the wedding."

"Where's Sawyer?", Gail asks. "He's usually here by now." The sound of the front door closing with a thud gravitates all eyes towards the living room. Sawyer staggers from the living room and into the kitchen. His hair is disheveled on top of his head while his eyes don't appear to be fully open.

"Sawyer, not only am I your supervisor, but I'm also your friend so I'm going to be nice when I say...you look like crap.", Taylors says. "Are you not feeling well?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night." Bryce snickers beside him. "Paula had been wanting a puppy so being the wonderful boyfriend that I am, I went and bought her a Yorkshire Terrier. It's a girl named Violet. She's only a few months old and is kind of adorable. Besides buying food for her, I also bought her a nice little bed where she's supposed to sleep. Did you catch the notice part? I'm getting ready to go bed and snuggle with my lady, but Violet was on my side of the bed. Paula put her on her little bed, but she apparently likes our bed better. Paula was batting her eyes at me, making it difficult to argue, thus I gave in and agreed to let the dog sleep with us. She wanted to wiggle on the comforter at first, but she finally settled down and went to sleep."

"Didn't you go to sleep afterwards?", Christian asks.

"For a while until I was woken up with my face being licked. I was halfway asleep and for a split second forgot about Violet being in the bed. I thought it was Paula licking my face. After realizing it wasn't her, I gave up and got on the sofa which isn't very comfortable."

"Dude, I'm sorry.", Bryce laughs. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night either, but that's because I have at my house."

"I'm sure things will improve over tell.", I assure Sawyer although I find myself giggling along with Jamison, but his laughter stems from knocking his bowl of cereal on to the floor.

* * *

><p>"Carol, I'm going to be over here if anyone needs me.", Mary says. She slides into the opposite side of the booth where I've been eating an order of cheese fries. I move my plate over a tad and set down the notebook I brought with me. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."<p>

"I didn't mind. I remember how it would go from being empty to crowded in no time."

"The last few days have been exactly like that. Candace came into work last night thinking it was going to be slow since there wasn't a single customer's car in the parking lot. She went to start filling the napkin holders when all of a sudden several people came in. It's good though. Did Jamison not want to come help with the wedding planning?"

"He stayed home with Nancy. She and Gail were getting ready for lunch as I was leaving the house." Watching Jamison watch Riley almost made me tear up. It was a nice hint of how he may act with his future brother or sister. Flowers. What are your favorites?"

"Roses. I like all colors of them. Ray will randomly show up here with bouquets of them. Your dad is the best Ana."

"I know.", I smile back. "We can bring in all kind of roses for the day. I saw these vases that have pebbles at the bottom. On top of the pebbles were flowers, and sitting at the mouth of the vase were candles. We could take use roses for that."

"I like that idea.", she nods. "Before we go any further, I want to thank you again for helping me plan with the planning. I'm not very good when it comes to planning parties and especially weddings. This also means a lot to me because it gives us the chance to spend some time together. I can't wait to officially be family."

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"April, how's your first day back going so far?", Taylor asks his niece. He and I have just returned from a luncheon with the mayor.

"It's gone better than I thought. I called Bryce's mom a few minutes ago to see how Alex was doing, and he was sleeping." Her shoulders stiffen as her eyes move to me. "I promise my checking up on him won't affect my work."

"Don't apologize for being a parent. I understand completely.", I reply Checking in on Jamison is a constant for me, one that'll only increase when the new baby arrives. Andrea returns to her desk and hands me several papers. "I hope these are simple papers for me to sign so I won't be here late."

"You're sort of right.", Andrea shrugs. "They do need a signature, but I'm not sure how simple or complicated they are since they're the department reports you asked for." A few weeks ago, I met with all department heads and asked them to compile extensive reports on their departments. I wanted to know their strengths in addition to their weaknesses. It's a way to determine what needs to be done to advance the company and employees. "Ros has already been given her copies and said she wants to discuss things once you're both finished."

"She didn't happen to give a time of when she wants to meet?" I place my hand on the knob of my office door.

"All she said was once you're both finished." I hear my phone ringing as I'm opening my door. Stepping inside my office, I see that it's Charles calling. I last spoke with him two days ago when he was preparing to return to New York after closing up Susan's house.

"Charles, hi. How are you?"

"Hey. I'm ok. I'm sorry for calling, but I really needed to discuss something with you." I pad to my desk, dropping the papers in my hand. "With my mother being gone, I have no other family except you, Ana, and Jamison. I know our relationship is always going to be hindered because of all that transpired, but you're all I have." His voice cracks more and more with each word. "I wanted to find out your thoughts on me possibly moving to Seattle."

"Move to Seattle?", I ask. "What about your job and your relationship with Gina?"

"My company is going to be acquired by another company in a few weeks. Major changes are in store, including laying off long time employees. I'm not one of those on the list, but I don't agree with what's going to take place so I've decided to resign. I can find a stock broker job elsewhere. As for my relationship with Gina, even though we believed our feelings had turned romantic, we came to the conclusion that we're better off as friends. So...I really don't have anything in New York." I've been in the feeling alone boat, and it's not a pleasant place to be. Charles and I may never have a normal relationship, but I want him to know he has family.

"You want to know what my opinion on the matter is? I think having you in Seattle full time will be nice."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll keep you updated on things as they happen.", he says as Taylor opens the door. I'm alarmed by the seriousness on his face.

"All right. I'll talk to you later. Bye." My shaky hands almost send my phone to the floor. "Something's wrong.", I murmur.

"Sawyer called and told me there was an accident at the diner." I'm to my feet and the door before Taylor has a chance to continue. He places a hand on my shoulder. "Christian, Ana's fine." Ana told me Jamison was going to stay home while she met with Mary, but things change. "Jamison wasn't there."

"What happened?"

"An elderly woman was parking her car and accidentally hit the gas, sending her car into the diner. Luckily no one was sitting at the front tables. Ana and Mary were at a booth towards the back."

"I need to go see my wife. Now."

* * *

><p>My skins crawls at the giant hole at the front of the diner. My wife was in that diner when the incident happened. Ana, my Ana. I stand in front of the hole and fight back tears while looking at damage.<p>

"Excuse me, sir, I'm not sure how you got past the barriers, but you can't be here.", a police officer tells me.

"I'm Christian Grey, and my wife is that diner. I'm going to go and find her, and I suggest you move out of my way.", I snarl. He makes the wise move of stepping aside so I can go trudge through the damage in search of Ana. I find her at the back of the diner along with several others, including Sawyer, Bryce, Mary, and Ray. Ana springs from her chair and into my arms. "I was so fucking scared when Taylor told me." Carol and the other waitresses go into the kitchen.

"It was a pretty scary moment, but it's ok. No one was hurt. The driver of the car, Edna Garland, was taken to the hospital to be checked over."

"As should you." My hands go to her stomach. "Both of you."

"We're fine. Mary and I were back here when it happened."

"Christian, I know how you're feeling.", Ray says. "I was getting ready to go to the paint store when Mary called me. How I didn't get a speeding ticket is beyond me."

"The place can be repaired, but lives are more important.", Mary adds. "Ray, do you want to go and help me in the kitchen with some food for everyone?" It's clear Mary's wanting to give Ana and I some privacy.

"Sure." Ray motions for Bryce, Sawyer, and Taylor to follow.

"I called the house on the way. Jamison was playing.", I tell Ana. I find it unable to hold in the tears in any longer.

"Christian, it's ok.", she whispers between sniffles. "I know you're mind is telling you, "What if?", but you need to ignore your mind for once. Don't let the "What if?" get to you. Concentrate on the positive."

"I'm trying. Baby, I'm trying."

"Try harder. Everyone is safe."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks for reading!**

**C POV**

"Ros, I've looked over the department reports and am ready to discuss them if you are." Ros stares at me over her reading glasses. "Or do you need more time?"

"I'm wondering if the one who needs more time is you.", she replied. "Hell I'm wondering why you're even here today. Less than twenty-four hours ago your wife was at a diner where.."

"I know what happened. I don't need to be reminded.", I say harsher than I intended. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." I fall back in one of the chairs and roll my head back. "Ana said I need to focus on the fact that she's ok, but it doesn't make forgetting what happened easier. I could have lost her." Ros reaches and hands me a tissue for the tears I didn't even know where falling. "Fuck. Now I'm crying."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Holding in your feelings isn't good. Ana's right about being thankful she's ok, but you can't forget about that car going through the diner. She's your wife and mother of your children." Children? "I mean child."

"Yet you said children." She twirls her pen between her fingers, obviously trying to think of an excuse. "Ros?" She lightly tosses the pen on the top of the desk and holds her hands up in defeat.

"Fine. I said children because I meant children. Christian, did you really think I believed you left work that day to accompany Ana to the dentist for a chipped tooth? It was evident you went somewhere else. You've also had a glow about you. It's exactly like the one you had when Ana was pregnant with Jamison."

"I don't have a glow. Only pregnant women have a glow. The dads don't.", I scoff. She begins staring at me while waiting for me to budge. "Ok. Yes, Ana's pregnant, but we haven't told anyone. She and I are the only ones who know."

"And now me although I promise to keep my lips sealed and not tell anyone except for Bill the maintenance man." I huff a deep breath and scowl at her. "I'm kidding. I won't say anything. Back to how you're feeling, you need to sit down and talk with Ana, let her know how deep the accident affected you."

"You're right and I will. I did get what I see as good news yesterday. Charles is more than likely moving to Seattle. He wants to be closer to what family he has left. I could hear the anxiety in his voice as he asked my thoughts. I feel bad that he lost time that he'll never get back."

"He can't get that time back, but he can make the most of the time he has now."

"Thank you for listening. Now then, since I'm here, we might as well go over those reports. Lyle McKibbon, the head of accounting said he feels his department doesn't take him serious enough."

"From what I've seen, McKibbon could be a little more stern with his employees. He's more concerned with being their friend and not their boss. Most of the absences in the company are in accounting. They're constantly calling in and leaving early. He needs to put his foot down and take control."

"I couldn't agree more.", I reply. "Other than what's going on in that department, the other department heads have good reports. They state there's always room for improvement, but all in all, they're pleased with things."

"That leaves us with Lyle McKibbon. I'll call and tell him we need to discuss the report with him."

* * *

><p>"Lyle, thank you for meeting with us.", I tell Lyke McKibbon after he sits down at the conference table. Both Ros and I are on the opposite side of him. "I assume you know why I asked you here."<p>

"About the department report. I almost wrote things were good in the department, but I decided I needed to tell the truth."

"Why were you going to lie and say things were ok?", Ros asks.

"Embarrassment. I'm in charge of the department and can't keep those working in it in line."

"I've seen you interacting with some of the people under you. From my viewpoint, you came across as a guy who wanted so much to be liked than you're willing to let things go. The amount of absences in accounting is ridiculous. I understand people being sick or having things come up, but I sense they're calling in because they can. They know you're not going to do anything. When people start missing work, it affects the entire department. The quality and amount of work done is touched."

"I'm sorry. You're right about me wanting to be liked. When I took the position, I had a few people who immediately didn't like me. They didn't come out and say it, but I knew. Their records showed they were good workers. I made the stupid decision of getting them to like me by letting them do whatever. I thought it would be short term. They'd see I wasn't a bad guy and then start treating me like a real boss."

"You made a mistake there.", Ros sighs. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. I get along with the people who work here, but I also make it known I'm their boss which they accept. I'm not afraid to call someone into my office when their work is inadequate. If they can't accept you're their supervisor, they need to find employment elsewhere."

"It's not going to be easy, but I'll get it my best."

"I'm confident you're going to be ok, but if you need my help, feel free to call me.", I say.

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

"I don't like seeing that sign telling everyone we're going to be closed until further notice.", Mary murmurs. The sign she's referring to is placed at the parking lot entrance and lets customers know we're not open. "I've already seen several cars slow down as if they were going to turn in here, but they saw that sign and kept going." We're standing at the front of the diner and staring out through hole that was left by yesterday's incident. Elliot stopped by earlier to survey the damage.

"Elliot said he can get started working on it tomorrow, and he doesn't think it'll take long to repair. The customers may be passing by now, but they'll be back once you're reopened."

"I get used to seeing some of the same customers every day, and not being able to see them kind of takes things off balance. Then there's the fact that the employees are losing money by not working." She looks over her shoulder at Carol who's wiping off a back table. "Carol, why don't you go home? There's nothing you can do here." Carol shrugs her shoulders and starts towards us.

"I've got nothing else to do.", Carol jokes.

"You can always stop by the house and see Jamison.", I giggle. "He's a fast little guy now that he's walking." My dad was chasing after Jamison when I dropped him off before coming to the diner with Mary.

"I might take you up on your offer and stop by tomorrow if that's ok with you."

"Tomorrow's fine."

"Ray will probably still be recovering tomorrow from all the running around he's doing today.", Mary laughs in a departure from the somberness she's had since yesterday. She moves from the hole and sits down at one of the tables, but her eyes are still on the damage. "I should be planning my wedding instead of dealing with this."

"You're not alone in any of this. You've got a lot of people to help in any way you need." While putting on a brave face for Mary, I'm inwardly dealing with my emotions over yesterday. I told Christian to not focus on the "what if", but taking my own advice isn't the easiest thing.

"You ok?", Carol asks me.

"Uh huh. I'm going to call and check on Jamison and my dad." I grab my phone from my purse and move to the left side of the diner. The phone rings three times before my dad answers.

"He's ok.", my dad immediately assures me even though I know Jamison's in good hands. "The two of us are sitting in my recliner and resting a bit. I've seen him walking fast, but I had no clue he was as fast as lightning." I wipe a stray tear after hearing Jamison jabbering.

"Don't let him get you too tired."

"I'm going to try."

"Mary and I will see you two fellas soon."

* * *

><p>"I don't think I've ever seen him fall asleep as fast as he did tonight.", Christian says. We've just put Jamison to bed and are getting to go ourselves. "I've got two things I need to talk to you about. I could wait until tomorrow, but I'd rather go ahead so I can maybe have a clear mind when I go to sleep. The first thing is Ros knows you're pregnant. I swear I didn't tell her. She figured it out by the stupid excuse I used the day we got it confirmed." Christian told me his excuse to Ros that day was needing to go with me to the dentist for a chipped tooth. I assumed she took his word. I was wrong. "She also said I've got a glow. I don't have a fucking glow. Do I?" I ease down on the bed and study his face. "She was kidding, right?"<p>

"You do look different. I take it now that she knows we need to tell everyone else."

"Not necessarily. She promised not to say anything, and if there's one thing Ros is it's loyal. She won't tell anyone unless we give her the ok."

"I'd like to hold off on telling others, but I feel the need to do so since Ros knows."

"Give it some thought. I'm ok with whatever you want.", he says. "And now the serious thing I need to discuss with you. It's about what happened yesterday. Please don't interrupt me until I've finished." He leans against the wall while seemingly trying to find the words. "You told me I shouldn't think about the "what if". I get why you told me that, but I also need you to see that it's not that simple. A tiny piece of me felt like you were trying to dismiss and ignore my feelings."

"I wasn't.", I blurt out. He holds his index finger up, telling me to hold off on responding.

"You might not have been, but that's how I felt. That hole in the diner is nothing compared to the void that would be in my life if you were taken from me. You, Jamison, and the new baby are my world. You're all I think about, day and night. All that's happened with Charles has helped put things in even more perspective. It made me see that time with those you love is valuable. You need to take every second and make it count." His face is stained with tears. "I needed to get that out."

"I'm glad you did. I have something to tell you as well. One reason why I told you that was to try to make yesterday a little more bearable in my mind. It was my way of trying to block out my true feelings and fears. It took no time for that car to run into the diner, but it felt like it was in slow motion. All I could think about was leaving you and Jamison and..." I rest my hand on my stomach. "This baby not making it into the world." He pushes himself off the wall and sits down beside me. "I didn't mean to make you feel like your feelings didn't matter. I was just so scared."

"It's ok. We can't erase what happened. It's forever going to be a day we're rather forget, but we do need to move forward. It's been a while since I've had a session with Flynn, but I think I might need to see him, and it might be good for you as well." The one and only time I've seen John Flynn as a patient was to discuss my fear of loss. It was a beneficial meeting, but now a revisit might be in order. "It can be together or separate."

"Meeting with Flynn is a good idea."

"We're going to be ok Ana. I know that without a doubt."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"Daddy's sorry he had to leave the table for a minute.", Christian apologizes sweetly to Jamison. We were in the middle of breakfast when he got a phone. I sit in my chair and observe father and son as they stare at each other. Jamison's smile is an exact mirror of Christian's.

"I'm certain he accepts your apology.", I ask, taking a bite of a strawberry from my fruit bowl. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. It was Flynn's assistant. She apparently double booked appointments today and needs to reschedule ours." Christian and I are meeting with John Flynn today to discuss the incident at the diner. We're hoping he can help us get some sort of peace. "We can either go at nine or wait until one. Ros and I are shadowing the the head of accounting this morning so I told her one. Is that ok with you?"

"One is fine with me." I take another strawberry but hold off on eating it. "Meeting with Flynn will be good, right?" Christian sits down in the chair on the other side of me and brings the strawberry to my mouth.

"Yes baby. You and I both know Flynn is good at what he does." It's now Christian's turn to be silent. "I..uh..I went by his office a few days after we returned from our first trip to Detroit, the one where we first met Susan."

"And visited Ella's grave."

"That too. I needed to talk about all that had transpired."

"Why didn't you tell me?", I ask.

"I don't know. I guess I wanted you to think I could handle it on my own. It was an intense two hour conversation. We met again a week later, but that was the last meeting we had on a professional basis."

"Christian, there's nothing wrong with needing help. You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders." He takes a drink of his coffee and nods. "When I talked with my dad last night, I mentioned how we're going to see Flynn. It seems he and Mary are considering meeting with someone."

"We're not Ray and Mary, but we went through the same trauma. They'll only benefit from getting help."

"We'll be seeing them tonight for dinner. They've also invited your parents." I look down at my stomach and then look back at him with a raised brow.

"You've decided we can tell them about the new baby tonight?", he asks.

"I'm leaning towards it. Do you think we should?"

"Whatever you decide is ok with me."

* * *

><p>"Christian, Ana, please come in and have a seat." Christian's hand is wrapped around mine as we step into John Flynn's office. We sit on the brown leather sofa while Flynn sits down at the his desk. "How are you?"<p>

"Obviously not good since we're here.", I laugh nervously.

"It's ok baby.", Christian says. "Flynn was only asking in general." Flynn props his chin on his hand and nods. "Things had been going well until an accident happened at the diner where Ana used to work."

"When you called to set up this meeting you said a car ran into the front. You also said no one was seriously hurt which is a good thing."

"A very good thing.", Christian murmurs.

"Ana, what were your feelings as you saw the car go into the building?", Flynn asks. I'm silent for several minutes, not because I don't want to answer the question but because wording my feelings is difficult. "Take your time."

"Shock, fear, worry, anger.", I answer as Christian's right hand covers my left.

"Christian, what about you? What feelings were you experiencing when you learned of the accident?"

"Pretty much the same as Ana in addition to guilt. I felt like I should've been there and dealing with what happened instead of her."

"What both of you are feeling is completely normal in near death experiences whether you're there first hand like Ana or indirectly like Christian. In nanoseconds, your life flashes before you, making you realize how fragile life is."

"You're right on the money.", Christian tells him. "Ana and I have and are continuing to build a life that's vanquished any darkness from my past. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my business and where it's at, but my life with Ana is more meaningful. We've got a healthy and beautiful son and..." Even though the conversation is serious, the corners of Christian's mouth curls into a smile. He looks at me for unspoken permission which I grant with a nod. "And another baby on the way."

"Another baby, congratulations. I see what you're saying Christian. Your lives are blessed, and that car running through the diner put those blessings in danger." He opens one of his desk drawers and pulls a stack of dominos which he begins placing on the top of the desk. "Think of each domino as a good thing in your lives." After the all the dominos are set up, he rests a hand next to them. "One thing can come along and ruin everything." He hits the end domino which in turns sends the dominos down one by one. "It's scary seeing that, huh? Your fear is similiar to the one we discussed the last time we met. You were afraid of loss."

"I was and am scared of dying, but my my concern is more for the affect of my loss on Christian and Jamison. I don't want to think about them being without me, and the new baby not getting the chance to see this world."

"Ana and I have come so far, gone through so much to get to where we are, and I don't want to think about living without her. It's not a notion I ever want to have."

"Then don't.", Flynn says seriously. "As I said, it's normal to have these fears, but you can't let them take over your lives. You can't barricade yourselves away from the world. Then you'd be missing out and well...not living. You need to be the ones in control, not the fear and worry." Each word Flynn's saying is slowly seeping in. Being afraid of losing or being lost will make our lives unbearable.

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"Have I missed anything?", I ask Ros after joining her in accounting for the shadowing of Lyle McKibbon. We're standing against the wall by his office door, allowing us to have a clear view of the entire office.

"I haven't been here long myself, but I already know that girl at the far left desk is trouble. Lyle said her name is Donna Baxter. From the records I've seen, she's one of the employees who's called in several times or left early. Lyle informed her that he hadn't received her work from yesterday. She gave him the old "you'll have it today", but I'm doubting that."

"How did he handle it?"

"He told her it was due by three and no later." Lyle opens his door and smiles. "I was catching Mr. Grey up on what he missed."

"I'm doing the best I can. It's not going to be a one day change, but I'm going to get better.", he tells me.

"I was told about the employee who didn't turn in her work yesterday. You gave her until trhee to have it done. What's going to be your course of action if she fails to hand it in?" Donna Baxter takes a quick glimpse at us with a smirk.

"I'm prepared to terminate her if needed. She's always calling in and leaving early with no valid excuse." The topic of conversation gets up and waltzes towards us.

"Mr. McKibbon, here's the work you asked for. I'm sorry for taking so long with it."

"I'll let it go this time, but in the future, all assignments need to be on my desk by the end of the day."

"I would have had it turned in yesterday, but I..um got sidetracked with other things." She's trying to be nice, but I can see she's also trying to get herself off the hook. "Besides, what's one late assignment?" Ros looks as if she's about to add to the conversation, but she refrains herself and allows Lyle to continue.

"If it had been just one work assignment it might not be a big deal, but you've made it a habit. I've been more than fair with you, yet you don't seem fazed by it."

"Fine.", she mumbles. "I'll do better from now on." The sarcasm is dripping in her voice.

"I don't appreciate the tone you're taking with me.", Lyle says calmly.

"No offense Lyle, but you're only acting like this because Mr. Grey and Ms. Bailey are here. Any other time you'd care less about work being turned in on time."

"I've made mistakes with my supervising, and I'm trying to correct them, starting with making sure the work you're paid to do is done." The rest of the department have stopped their work and are now staring at the confrontation. "Please go back to your desk."

"No. She won't be going back to her desk.", I scoff. "Ms. Baxter, please get your things and leave. You're fired." Her eyes cut to Lyle and then Ros.

"You're really going to fire me over something stupid like this? Unbelieveable. I'm one of the best people here. You're going to beg me to come back.", she snaps.

"I don't see that happening.", Ros says, fighting amusement. "We need people who take the job seriously. That's not you." Instead of spewing more insults, Ms. Baxter stomps back to her desk and starts shoving things in her purse.

"I'm sorry. I tried to handle it the best I could.", Lyle sighs. "I'll go as well if you'd like."

"You'll do no such thing. You handled the situation well."

* * *

><p>"Ana?" I call her name and knock on the bedroom door but don't get an answer. When I arrived home, Nancy told me Ana had been resting for the past hour. I ease the door open and use what's left of the daylight to see her on the bed. She's sprawled on her back with her arms tossed out. It doesn't look like a comfortable position, but the lack of movement from her indicates she's resting well. I pad to the bed and slide in next to her with her back to my front.<p>

"What time is it?", she murmurs.

"Its five thirty."

"We've got to be at my dad and Mary's at six thirty. I still need to change clothes and get Jamison fed." I turn on the bedside lamp as she's about to spring to her feet, but I can see the exhaustion in her entire body. "Christian, come on."

"We're not going to the dinner. You are going to rest a while longer while I feed Jamison. Then I'm going to order some take out for us."

"We're expected at dinner.", she murmurs.

"We were expected, but after Nancy told me you weren't feeling well, I called your dad and told him we're not going to make it. I didn't tell him about the baby, only that you've got a stomach virus. He sent his get well wishes."

"I did tell Mary earlier over the phone that I wasn't feeling the best. She called me for Flynn's number."

"Is your dad going as well?", I ask. With a nod, she lays back down. "They're making the right choice."

"It was only this morning when we saw Flynn, but I already feel a lot better emotionally."

"I wish I could help you feel better physically. Do you need me to get anything for you?"

"I'm ok for now."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: First off, Happy New Year everyone! Now on to an issue that's been on my mind. The fan fiction world is a place where I along with other writers come and get out the ideas that take consume our minds. It allows us to express ourselves and also get away from the often harsh world of reality. Sadly there are some who don't get that concept. There are unfortunately people out there who choose to go after writers on a personal level. It's one thing to disagree with a story's content or the writing, but to attack someone and say cruel and spiteful things is another. It's bullying, pure and simple. These people need to grow up and find better things to do. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**C POV**

"Ana and I have some news to share." I turn the laptop slightly so Mia and Ben are able to see us better. The two of them have gone to Portland for the weekend to attend Ben's grandmother's eightieth birthday party. Before they left, I called Mia and told her there's some news Ana and I wanted to announce but would wait until later to do so. Persistent as ever, she asked if we'd Skype the news to them. With them on the laptop screen, the rest of our family and friends are standing eagerly by the kitchen table, including Charles who arrived in town only a few hours ago. He's staying with us instead of his usual hotel.

"It's wonderful news.", Ana chimes as Jamison jabbers in her lap.

"I'm sure it is.", Ben replies. "So instead of making us wait not so patiently, why don't you just tell us."

"Yes tell us. Now.", Mia sighs even more impatiently than Mia.

"Hold on a second. I need to use the restroom.", my mom murmurs. She rushes out of the kitchen while Elliot groans in his stool at the breakfast bar. My dad, Ray, and Mary are on the other side of the table from Ana and I are whispering amongst themselves, no doubt trying to guess what the news is.

"If Mom hadn't gulped down that entire glass of water we wouldn't be waiting.", Elliot scoffs. Spencer cocks her head and shoots a scolding look at him. "But if she was that thirsty, then I understand." His relationship with Spencer is still what they've deemed "a work in progress", and from what I've seen that work is proving to be good for them.

"I'm back." My mom returns and plants herself back in her chair. "You may proceed." With a full on grin, I take Ana's hand and nod for her to remove the button up shirt Jamison's wearing. Underneath is a white tee shirt with the words, **I'm Going to be a Big Brother**. The sound of clapping and sobbing accompany the congratulations we get from everyone.

"I had a feeling.", Spencer says. "Ana told me the last few times I've seen or spoken to her that she wasn't feeling well. No offense, but you can only blame it on bad food so many times."

"I'll try and remember that.", Ana giggles.

"I told Mary on the way over you might be going to announce another pregnancy.", Ray says while hugging us.

"This is fantastic.", Charles grins.

"Christian's had a glow lately so I kind of assumed Ana was pregnant.", my dad laughs. My eyes flash to his in curiosity. Ros made the same remark the other day. "Is something wrong son?"

"I don't a glow! Have you been talking to Ros?" All attention in the room goes to my dad who takes his phone out, pretending to scroll through messages. "Dad?"

"I ran into Ros yesterday when I was picking up my dry cleaners. We got to catching up on what's been going on in each of our lives. I began suspecting she wanted to tell me something, yet when I asked her, she only told me to observe your glow. I was baffled at the time, but now it makes sense. She knew already?"

"Ros knew before we did?", Mia sighs. "I'm your little sister who you adore, but you told the baby news to Ros instead."

"I'm sure it wasn't done with ill intentions.", Mary tells Mia.

"Ros figured it out and told me she would keep it to herself which she must have found difficult since she dropped the glow hint with you."

"What matters now is all of you know about our new addtion.", Ana says, trying to get things back on track. "Jamison is going to have a little brother or sister who will be loved by this entire room."

"Uh hello?", Mia giggles on her side of the screen.

"Scratch that. This baby is going to be loved by everyone."

"Riley's going to enjoy having another baby to play with.", Gail says.

"So will Alex.", April adds.

* * *

><p>"What's this?", Ros asks on Monday morning. She's staring with uncertainty at the coffee and small paper sack I've placed on her desk. She carefully opens the sack and pulls out the blueberry scone inside. "You brought me coffee and a scone." I fold my arms and remain standing in front of her desk. "Are you about to fire me?"<p>

"Can't I bring my second in charge and friend coffee and a pastry. Consider it a small thank you for all you do and most importantly, your friendship."

"Well...thank you. I _might_ even apologize for my glowing comment." I unfold my arms and sit down in one of the chairs as she laughs. "I'm sorry, but you know I enjoy messing with you. It's one of my ways of expressing how appreciative I am of your friendship."

"Funny you should mention the glowing. Ana and I announced our news yesterday. My dad told me he saw you the other day." She stops chewing on the piece of scone in her mouth. "You told him to observe my glow."

"Now I'm wondering if you might have poisoned me. The scone doesn't taste weird, but that doesn't mean anything."

"I promise I didn't poison you. Do you want to tell me why you hinted to my dad about the baby?"

"Even though I told you I'm good at keeping secrets, it doesn't mean it's easy. I was so excited about your new baby that I could barely keep my mouth closed. Not wanting to tell your dad, I did the next best thing. I led him in the direction of the secret."

"You're sneaky.", I tell her.

"I never claimed I wasn't. Was everyone there?"

"All but Mia and Ben who were gone to Ben's grandmother's eightieth birthday party. We were going to wait, but Mia wanted us to go ahead. She and Ben were with us on Skype. You should have seen the smiles on all their faces. Charles probably had the biggest grin of all. Now that he's moving to Seattle and another baby is on the way, his family is expanding."

"Has he found a job yet?", Ros asks.

"Not yet, but he's got an interview today. With his experience, he shouldn't have trouble finding a job. He was planning on staying at a hotel this visit, but both Ana and I would hear it. He's going to be here a few days and then will br flying back to New York for a while longer."

* * *

><p><strong>A POV<strong>

"Elliot and I had sex last night.", Spencer smirks over her water glass. She and I along with Jamison are at my dad and Mary's where we're doing more wedding planning. Thankfully Jamison fell asleep about thirty minutes ago and is now in the crib my dad and Mary have placed in one of the guest bedrooms. I keep my eyes on the wedding checklist. "Did you hear me? I had sex with Elliot last night."

"I did hear you although I'm not sure if now is the right time to be bringing it up. My dad's outside working on the yard, but Mary might still hear you." Mary's on the phone in the den where she's discussing the diner repairs with Elliot. Spencer quickly cuts her eyes to the front door and then around the room to see any sign she was heard.

"Geez. I'm sorry, but it's kind of a big deal. It was the first time we've done it since we got back together. We've been taking things slow, but last night night we found ourselves unable to hold back the emotions. We were in the middle of a simple conversation about how we've been getting along well, and then suddenly it happened. Both of us started breathing heavily and panting. Before I knew it, we were all over each other. Elliot picked me up and carried me to my bed where it gained momentum."

"I get it. You don't have to describe it to me. I've got a baby and another on the way so I get how the whole sex thing works. Your good mood must mean you're glad it happened." I finally look up from the list, placing it on the end table next to the sofa where I'm seated.

"I'm very, very happy it took place. I don't have a bit of regret. This morning, Elliot was getting dressed and not saying anything. I was worried he wished he could take it back. I came out and asked, and he said he was also glad we did it. He was worried I was regretting it."

"You got that out in the open. You're communicating."

"Girls, I'm sorry my phone call took so long. Elliot was going into detail about the materials and other things, and I didn't want to stop him. He's only been working on the diner a few days and already has a lot done."

"Elliot's an expert.", Spencer shrugs.

"Ray and I are have gone by there every day since the accident, but I'm determined to not to do so today. We're meeting with John Flynn at four and going to discuss our feelings with what happened."

"It's going to help both of you.", I tell Mary. "Christian and I were antsy and nervous wrecks before we saw Flynn the other day. Sitting there and opening up about our fears and feelings really helped."

* * *

><p>"This dinner is delicious.", Charles say at the dinner table. "It definitely beats hotel food."<p>

"Eat all you want. There's still plenty.", Christian tells him. "How did your interview go today?"

"It went well. The guy doing the interview seemed impressed with my resume and pleased with my answes to his questions. I should find out by the end of the week whether or not I have the job. After the interview was over, I went to look at an apartment that I saw in the newspaper. It was small. The kitchen and living room were one room, and there wasn't even a bedroom. There was a pull down bed on the living room wall."

"Charles, you're welcome to stay with us now and after you move here.", I say, glancing at Christian for back up.

"Ana's right. It's nice having you here."

"It's nice being here, and while I may take you up on your offer, I don't plan on it being a long stay. A new place will help with my new phase in life." He turns to Jamison's high chair. "I'm thrilled I'm going to be able to spend more time with you and your brother or sister."

"Baba.", Jamison mutters as he reaches for his bottle.

"Oh I uh saw Carol today also." During one of Charles's past visits, we went to the diner where Carol was our waitress. The two of them seemed to get along well, but that was months ago. "She was at the burger place I went to for lunch. I would have invited her to join me, but she was on her way out when I was just getting there. She can't wait to get back to the diner." There's something in his voice as he talks about her. Could he be interested in her?

"Carol's a sweet and nice woman.", I say.

"Yes I agree."

"She's also single I believe.", Christian laughs. "I'm just saying in the event you might want be interested in her."

"I'll see."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

**A POV**

"The balloons are going to be ready tomorrow at twelve thirty, and the cake is to be picked up at one so we can make one trip." Pacing the living room floor, I continue mentally trying to figure out what else needs to be done for tomorrow. It's a monumental day, Jamison's first birthday. We're celebrating with a zoo animal theme. My eyes float down to my sweet boy who's sitting in Christian's lap. "Mommy and Daddy are going to make sure it's the perfect day."

"Tell Mommy you already know it's going to be perfect.", Christian softly says to Jamison before meeting my eyes with his. "Ana, why don't you sit down and rest? You were up sick twice last night."

"I'm fine.", I tell him. When he doesn't seem convinced, I give in and move into the arm chair across from him and Jamison. "Ok. I'm sitting and going to rest for a bit. Then I'll get back to party planning. You can go and do some work if you'd like." Despite my insistance that I'd be fine dealing with some of the birthday planning while he was at work, Christian took the day off, saying he wanted to spend it with us.

"I've already made it clear to Ros that I'm not going to be at the office today and not to send anything work related to me."

"Make sure you keep to that.", Charles laughs as he joins us. After his interview Monday, the wait to find out if the job was his was short. He was called early Tuesday and told he was hired. He had considered making a quick trip back to New York and then returning tomorrow in time for the party, but he decided to hold off and leave after the party is over. His return to New York will only be long enough to get his things together and close out his place there. "Ana, your dad and Mary wil be tying the knot in only two more weeks, right?"

"Yes.", I sigh happily. "Most of the wedding planning is done. It's going to be simple and romantic just like my dad and Mary wanted."

"Charles, Carol's going to the wedding.", Christian says. Matchmaker Grey is determined to fix Charles and Carol up. I have to say, I think they could very well be good together. "And you're going to the wedding. The two of you could save gas and go together."

"I know you're trying your best to get me together with Carol, but you're forgetting one key thing, Carol might not be interested in me.", Charles shrugs, sitting down on the love seat. "She seems to like me as a person, but liking me as more is entirely different. The last thing I want is to make a fool out of myself."

"Now _you're_ forgetting something. If you don't try, you won't know. It could fail, but it could also work out." Charles leans back in his seat and nods in silence. "I'm sorry if I'm across as being too pushy. It's not my intent. I know Ella is still in your heart and will always be there, but you deserve to find love again."

"It's not like I haven't tried. When I married my ex-wife Paulina a few years ago I went in not feeling the same kind of love I had for Ella, but I thought maybe it would grow. I was wrong."

"That doesn't mean you're never going to find someone to love like that. To me, it means you and Paulina just weren't meant to be.", I tell him as Jamison smiles at Charles. "You can't live in the past."

* * *

><p>"Christian said you were in here resting.", April says, padding into the living room where I'm stretched out on the sofa.<p>

"Did I doze off and not hear you come through the door?"

"I was at Uncle Taylor and Gail's and wanted to see you so I came in through the door in the kitchen. Bryce followed me with Alex and is now in the kitchen with Christian, Jamison, and Charles."

"Did Christian ask you to report back on whether or not I'm actually resting?", I giggle while pulling myself up on the cushion.

"He didn't." I arch a brow to her response. "I promise he didn't, but he did say he felt you overdid it today. From how tired your eyes look, he was right."

"I've just been trying to get the birthday party together. Jamison's only going to turn one once, and I want the party to be memorable. The nausea I've been experiencing hasn't helped. It's worse this pregnancy than the last."

"Ana, if you need me to help in any way, let me know."

"I appreciate that and might take you up on your offer. Can you help us decorate?", I ask.

"Yes ma'am.", she laughs with a salute. "I'm good at decorating. What time should I be here?"

"The party starts at two so twelve thirty. Christian's going to be gone to pick up the cake and balloons, but I'll be here with the rest of the decortations. I've got little tigers and lions to place on the tables as well as a banner with different animals."

"Awww, so cute."

"Jamison's got a blue shirt with a red number one on the front. Elliot used to tease Christian all the time about time flying, and now it feels like it's speeding up." I dab the tears in the corners of both eyes while April starts crying with me.

"You talking about Jamison turning one makes me dread Alex being one." I sniffle and see Christian and Bryce standing in the doorway with puzzled faces. Jamison toddles past Christian and to me as Alex cries for April. "Here's our little guys." Bryce moves from his spot and into the living room, placing Alex in April's arms.

"Why are you two crying?", Christian questions. He sits on the other end of the sofa.

"We're just thinking about the boys getting older.", April replies.

"Please don't do that.", Bryce murmurs. "Let's enjoy the here and now." He bends and kisses April's lips.

* * *

><p><strong>C POV<strong>

"Where's the birthday boy?" Ben holds his hand over his eye during his "search" for Jamison who's standing right in front of him. "Mia, have you seen him?"

"I haven't." Thinking he's being ignored, Jamison begins whining. "There he is." Mia scoops Jamison up and kisses his cheeks before handing the baby over to Ben. "Jamison, this time last year I was seeing you for the first time, and now we're going to be having birthday cake together."

"I have to get the cake first along with the balloons. You can come with me if you'd like Ben."

"I think April and Bryce are going to be here soon to help put up some of the decorations.", Ana says. "Have you talked to Elliot or Spencer?" Mia and Ben each grimace. "What?"

"I wouldn't count on Elliot or Spencer being here until the actual start time for the party. Ben and I went by Spencer's on our way to see if Elliot was there so we could ask them to ride with us."

"Elliot was there.", Ben groans. "And the door was unlocked." Silence falls upon the room until all eyes widen in recognition to what Ben's alluding to. "They didn't see us, but we saw them."

"I'd bleach my eyes out, but I figured I wouldn't be able to see everything going on at Jamison's party.", Mia says. "Ana, point me to where I'm needed." Dressed in a white sundress with a yellow rose on the front, Ana stands and nods for Mia to follow her into the kitchen. The sun's rays are streaming through the curtains and shining on Ana, making her look even more like an angel than usual. My angel.

"Nancy's making some dip from a recipe she had, and I figured we could go ahead and lay chips and cookies on some of the trays. It's going to be basic snacks along with the cake."

"Baby, Ben and I are going to go. We'll be back soon." Jamisn hands reach out to me while Ana begins taking him from Ben. "You can't go baby boy. Daddy and Ben are going to go and get your cake and balloons. When we get back, we're going to have your party."

"Daddy won't be gone long.", Ana whispers to Jamison who calms down in no time.

"Where's Charles?", Ben asks once we're on the way to the SUV. Taylor who's been outside with Gail and Riley rushes over and goes to the driver's seat.

"He went to my parents' for a while.", I answer, thinking how some might see it as odd that my biological dad is friends with my adoptive parents, but I don't see it like that at all. They get along well which is great for everyone. We get into the SUV and start out down the driveway and on to the road. "I can't believe I'm going to pick up my son's first birthday cake. It's kind of surreal."

"Tell me about his cake."

"It's two layers with light blue icing. Multicolored dots and stars surround each layer. A zebra and a giraffe are on the bottom layer, and the a lion is on the top along with a number one."

* * *

><p>"I don't think we could've had better weather than what we have today.", Elliot says. All of the guests have arrived and made their way to the backyard where the party is being held. The sun is out in full force along with a moderate temperature of about eighty.<p>

"Jamison, you've got a crowd of people here.", Gail tells him while I'm sitting at the main table with him in my lap. Taylor's standing next to her with Riley who's just woken up from her nap

"Of course he has a crowd. The boy is loved by more people than can be counted.", Taylor laughs.

"Have you guys seen Ana?", I ask, roaming my eyes around the backyard with Ana not to be found.

"She went inside to the bathroom.", Spencer answers. I'm about to get up but see Ana and Mary step out of the house. "There she is." Ana slowly sits down in the chair next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better now.", Ana sighs. She elbows me and moves her eyes to Charles and Carol who are immersed in a conversation. "They're getting along well."

"It appears that way." I'm silently doing a fist pump in hopes they'll work out. "Mom?", I call to my mom. She leaves the spot where she and my dad have been talking to April and Bryce. "I think we're going to do the cake now." Ana and I weren't sure how we wanted to handle the cake until my mom made the suggestion that all of the grandparents could carry it. Even though it's not a huge cake, each grandparent is going to have a hand on it on the way to the table. It was also her idea to have Mary and Charles included in it. That led to some happy tears.

"Everyone, we're about to serve the cake.", my mom announces. She and the other grandparents go to the side table where the cake is placed and gently lift it. I look down at Jamison's eyes that are glued to the cake.

"Let's sing!", Ros shouts. The yard fills with the voices of everyone singing happy birthday to Jamison. As it winds down, Ana places her head on my shoulder and takes a deep breath. My dad places a single candle on the top of the cake, but Jamison crinkles his nose at it.

"Mommy and Daddy will help with your candle.", I tell him. "As you all can see, today's a big day. We're here celebrating the milestone of Jamison turning one. He's grown so much this past year, but one thing that hasn't and won't ever change is the love for him. Ana and I want to thank all of you for not only being here but also sharing in that love."

"It really, truly means the world to us.", Ana says. "Let's take care of this candle, shall we?" Together, we blow out the candle and hear everyone clapping,including Jamison.

"Happy birthday baby boy."


End file.
